The decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 people signals that President Trump will continue to dismantle a program that aims to protect migrants from potentially dangerous countries.
The government is releasing photos and videos to promote President Trumpβs immigration agenda, including footage of troops at the border and close-up shots of shackled immigrants.
Schools, churches and shops are feeling the chilling effect of the fear of deportation. One minister said fewer congregants were showing up for services.
The pause on several initiatives that allowed immigrants to enter the country temporarily will block the entrance of people fleeing some of the most unstable and desperate places in the world.
Border enforcement agencies have spent billions assembling surveillance tools to track and find people. These could be critical in President Trumpβs immigration agenda.
President Trumpβs first administration tried to implement a similarly sped-up process for removing unauthorized immigrants, but those efforts were hampered by federal courts.
The president-electβs immigration advisers have warned Republicans that it will take time and money from Congress to carry out the mass deportation effort he has promised to execute immediately.
The move by an agency within the Department of Homeland Security was part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to strengthen oversight and set clear guidelines for handling intelligence.
The department that the South Dakota governor seeks to lead will be critical to fulfilling the incoming administrationβs promises to quickly crack down on immigration.
Scores of Democrats joined Republicans in approving the measure, even though existing law already allows immigrants with contested legal status who are convicted of sex crimes to be deported.
The White House scrambled to get a message to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last year after U.S. intelligence agencies said a Russian military unit was preparing to send explosive packages on cargo planes.
President-elect Donald J. Trump picked the South Dakota governor to head the Homeland Security Department, which includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency.