As previewed last night, Reuters reports that during his visit to the Department of Homeland Security, President Trump is signing two executive orders on Wednesday including one to jumpstart the construction of the US-Mexico border wall as well as boosting border security, and another strengthening the enforcement of immigration laws.
As part of the first order, Trump will direct federal funds for construction, tripling the number of immigration enforcement agents and increasing the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff by 5,000, according to an administration official and others familiar with the directive. Earlier, Sean Spicer said that the order will also provide the Department of Homeland Security more resources "to stop illegal immigration from entering the United States." Spicer said the Trump administration will also seek to create more detention facilities for undocumented immigrants along the U.S. border, centers that he said would allow for swifter and cheaper deportations.
"Building this barrier is more than just a campaign promise. It's a common sense first step to really securing our porous border," said White House spokesman Sean Spicer. "This will stem the flow of drugs, crime, illegal immigration into the United States."
Quoted by Reuters, he said the orders will strip federal money from so-called sanctuary cities and end a "catch and release" policy of previous administrations.
The second order will specify a temporary ban on most refugees and a suspension of visas for people from Syria and six other Middle East countries. The press secretary said that "federal agencies are going to unapologetically enforce the law, no ifs, ands, or buts." A program to aid Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in targeting undocumented immigrants for removal will be reinstated, Spicer said, and the State Department will withhold visas for nations who refuse to accept deportees being sent back to their home countries. Federal grant money will be stripped from so-called "sanctuary cities" that harbor undocumented immigrants from the federal government, Spicer said.