The Department of Homeland Security, now helmed by President Joe Biden, announced late Wednesday night that acting Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske had established a 100-day moratorium on some deportations while the department’s immigration enforcement policies are under review, effective Friday.
The department will “pause removals for certain noncitizens” to “ensure we have a fair and effective immigration enforcement system focused on protecting national security, border security, and public safety,” according to the announcement.
“The pause will allow DHS to ensure that its resources are dedicated to responding to the most pressing challenges that the United States faces, including immediate operational challenges at the southwest border in the midst of the most serious global public health crisis in a century,” the department said.
“Throughout this interim period DHS will continue to enforce our immigration laws,” the department added.
The announcement did not specify which deportations will be put on hold or how many. TPM has reached out to the DHS for clarification.
Upon being sworn into office on Wednesday, Biden immediately issued a series of executive orders that targeted some of ex-President Donald Trump’s most hardline anti-immigration policies. The new orders overturned Trump’s Muslim ban and his efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census. They also halted the construction of the former president’s treasured border wall.
