Trump DOJ Leader Said to Order Prosecutors Moved to Border (1)

The Trump Justice Department’s top political appointee told all 93 US attorneys he’s recruiting their line prosecutors for border enforcement against what he framed as an invasion of immigrants crossing the border illegally, according to three people familiar with the meeting.

In a conference call Thursday, Emil Bove, Trump’s former personal criminal attorney serving as the acting deputy attorney general, spoke about the administration’s immigration focus in the context of a terrorist attack, said the individuals, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a non-public meeting.

During the call, Bove highlighted a new case in which DOJ will be pursuing criminal charges against a local sheriff’s office employee in upstate New York for facilitating a sanctuary city, as the administration takes aim at local policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Bove asked US attorneys to identify line prosecutors in their offices for deployment to border districts, the people said. He ended the call without taking questions.

A DOJ spokesman didn’t immediately provide a comment.

Bove assembled the US attorneys—a mix of Biden-appointed holdovers and interim officials—for the first time in the new administration to elaborate on his Jan. 21 memo about DOJ’s role carrying out Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The US attorneys participating in the meeting and others familiar with the call expected Bove to demand resignations from the prior administration’s top prosecutors, the usual practice within a few months after a new president’s arrival.

Instead, the attendees received border enforcement directions linked to Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order categorizing the influx of migrants at the southern border as an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution.

Bove, formerly a national security prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, also discussed the planned investigation of a local law enforcement officer in upstate New York who allegedly resisted a federal arrest warrant of a Mexican citizen.

That case, which Bove announced publicly earlier Thursday, may be the first example of the department implementing his memo ordering prosecutions of local and state government workers who obstruct immigration orders.

Immigration authorities rely on local collaboration for advanced notice of when an undocumented immigrant is being released from state custody, for example. Some local governments, however, have policies in place against cooperation to avoid discouraging undocumented immigrants from reporting crimes and accessing services.

In the statement, Bove applauded the Albany-based US attorney’s office for its “potential prosecution” of an unnamed sheriff’s office employee who Bove said appears to have supported Ithaca’s sanctuary city status.

The call aligned with the Trump administration’s early focus of hardline immigration policies, and signaled the importance it places on finding US attorneys willing to implement the president’s top priorities.

The Trump transition team had been searching for allies who’d be willing to step in as acting US attorneys to execute on top Trump priorities, including deportations.

The Trump DOJ quickly installed new US attorneys in Washington, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and more recently, Houston. But there remain numerous other US attorney’s offices still headed by Biden nominees or their former first assistants.

Sanctuary Cities

In his earlier memo, Bove previewed a “newly established Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group” and ordered investigations into incidents where local officials resist or obstruct federal immigration operations.

Bove’s Jan. 21 memo also called on US attorney’s offices to pursue charges for criminal immigration violations, including for illegal border crossings. Any decisions not to prosecute immigration-related conduct must be disclosed as “urgent reports” submitted to leadership, the memo says.

Trump’s initial immigration executive orders included an attempt to end birthright citizenship for the children of temporary visa holders and undocumented immigrants, a halt to the refugee admissions program, and a call to enhance vetting of immigrants. Trump has also announced he planned to hold migrants at the Guantanamo Bay detention center.