CHICAGO (AP) — Federal immigration agents will stop making mass worksite arrest of immigrants employees suspected of living in the U.S. without legal permission. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued guidance Tuesday saying the agency would cease such targeted enforcement which has “not focused on the most pernicious aspect of our country’s unauthorized employment challenge: exploitative employers.” Mass raids were common under former President Donald Trump, including a 2019 operation targeting seven Mississippi chicken processing plants. Instead, Mayorkas wants immigration agencies to focus on going after employers who hire workers without proper authorization by increasing penalties and coordinating with other agencies, including the Department of Labor.
Lynne Sladky/AP
FILE - In this May 25, 2021, file photo, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks with the media outside of the Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami. Federal immigration agents will stop making mass worksite arrest of immigrants employees suspected of living in the U.S. without legal permission. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued guidance Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, saying the agency would cease such targeted enforcement which has "not focused on the most pernicious aspect of our country's unauthorized employment challenge: exploitative employers." (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
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