Justice Department emphasizes immigration, threatening to prosecute state, local officials who resist Trump agenda

The Justice Department’s new leadership directed prosecutors and law enforcement across the country to focus on enacting President Trump’s immigration policies and said they should potentially charge state or local officials who impede their efforts, according to a memo sent to employees on Tuesday and obtained by CBS News.

“The Supremacy Clause and other authorities require state and local actors to comply with the Executive Branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives. Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote, citing the president’s constitutional authority and several federal laws. 

“The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution,” he added.

Bove, who served on President Trump’s criminal defense team before joining the department, also directed the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces to “assist in the execution of President Trump’s immigration-related initiatives.” The task forces are groups of law enforcement and intelligence officers based in cities across the country who typically investigate terrorism threats. An executive order signed by Mr. Trump on Monday initiated a process by which certain cartels could be recognized as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S.

The three-page directive also said the Justice Department’s law enforcement components, including the FBI and DEA, should identify any evidence related to noncitizens in the U.S. within 60 days and pass that information along to the Department of Homeland Security.

The memo said cartels, violent crime and the fentanyl crisis are “three of the most serious threats facing the American people” and ordered that, consistent with an executive order signed by Mr. Trump earlier this week, “the Justice Department must, and will, work to eradicate these threats.”

Bove’s message emphasized that state or local officials who seek to obstruct or refuse to comply with federal immigration law enforcement efforts risked investigation and potential prosecution.

The memo also directed all federal prosecutors to charge “the most serious, readily provable offenses” in any case, returning to a department policy enforced most recently during Mr. Trump’s first term in office. He rescinded Biden-era policies that offered prosecutors more discretion in their charging decisions and could lead to lesser charges or less severe penalties.

In all, the memo represents a noted shift in department priorities to align with Mr. Trump’s immigration policies.

“The Justice Department’s responsibility, proudly shouldered by each of its employees, includes aggressive enforcement of laws enacted by Congress, as well as vigorous defense of the President’s actions on behalf of the United States against legal challenges,” Bove wrote.

Bove and Acting Attorney General James McHenry, who has a deep background in immigration policy enforcement, are the interim leaders of the Justice Department as Trump’s picks for the two top jobs, Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche, make their way through the nomination process.