President Obama has already directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to put its “highest priority” on deporting convicted criminals and gang members. But presidents have broad authority under the law on immigration enforcement, and Trump could order DHS to go even further than the guidelines Obama laid out in 2014.
Trump could also do away with Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which more than 700,000 young undocumented immigrants have used to live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
The president-elect, however, has come under pressure from advocates to keep the program, including from Obama himself.
Trump could also issue directives that take aim at so-called sanctuary cities, which do not aid federal authorities in enforcing immigration law, and order work to begin on a massive border wall with Mexico. But he would likely need Congress’s cooperation to complete both tasks.
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