January 25. 2017

MEMORANDUM FOR:

Kevin McAleenan
Acting Commissioner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Dan Ragsdale
Acting Director
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Lori Scialabba
Acting Director
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Kelli Ann Burriesci
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy

FROM:

John Kelly
Secretary

SUBJECT:

Implementing the President's Border Security and
Immigration Enforcement Improvements Policies

This memorandum implements Executive Order f
l. "Border Security and Immigration
Enf(xcement Improvements:· issued by the President on January 20. 2017. It establishes the
President's policy regarding effective border security and immigration enforcement through
faithful execution of the laws of the United States. It implements new policy designed to deter
illegal immigration and facilitate the detection. apprehension. detention. and removal of aliens
who have no lawful authority to enter or remain in the United States. It constitutes guidance to all
Department personnel. and supersedes all existing policy. directives. memoranda. and field
guidance regarding this subject matter.

A. Policies Regarding the Apprehension and Detention of Aliens Described in Section
235 of the INA.
The President has determined that the lawful detention of mTiving aliens pending a
determination of their inadmissibility and eligibility for immigration relief has a significant
deterrent effect on illegal immigration. Detention also prevents such aliens from committing
crimes while at large in the United States and substantially increases the likelihood that aliens
lawfully ordered removed will be removed. These policies arc consistent with the provisions of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). which provide for mandatory detention of such aliens
and allow me or my designee to exercise discretionary parole authority pursuant to section
2 l 2(d)(5) of the INA only on a case-by-case basis, and only where parole is in the interest of the

United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. Policies that facilitate
the release of removable aliens apprehended at the border and elsewhere, which allow them to
abscond and fail to appear at their removal hearings, undermine the border security mission by
encouraging more illegal immigration. Such policies, collectively referred to as "catch-andrclease," must end.
Accordingly, effective immediately, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel may only release from custody an alien
described in section 235 of the INA who was apprehended after entering or attempting to enter the
United States illegally in the following situations:
1. When removing the alien from the United States pursuant to statute or regulation;
2. When the alien obtains a final order granting relief from removal;
3. When an ICE Field Office Director. CBP Sector Chie£ Pr CBP Director of Field
Operations consents to the alien· s withdrawal of an application for admission, and the
alien departs from the United States;
4. When an ICE Field Office Director, CBP Sector Chief, or CBP Director of Field
Operations directs the return of the alien to a foreign territory contiguous to the
United States pending the outcome of a removal proceeding under section 240 of the
INA;
5. When required to do so by statute. or to comply with a judicial order; or
6. When an ICE Field Office Director, CBP Sector Chief, or CBP Director of Field
Operations consents to the alien's parole pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the INA.
and obtains the written concurrence of the Deputy Director of ICE and the Deputy
Commissioner of CBP for the exercise of parole.

B. Hiring More Border Patrol Agents
The United States Border Patrol has insufficient agents to apprehend aliens illegally
entering the United States. Additional agents are needed to ensure operational control of the
border. Accordingly, the Commissioner of CBP shall immediately begin the process of hiring
5,000 additional Border Patrol agents and to take all actions necessary to ensure that such agents
enter on duty and are assigned to appropriate duty stations as soon as practicable.

C. Identifying and Quantifying Sources of Aid to Mexico
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The President has directed the heads of all executive departments to identify and quantify
all sources of direct and indirect aid or assistance to the Government of Mexico. Accordingly, the
Under Secretary for Management shall identify all sources of direct or indirect aid or assistance
from every departmental component to the Government of Mexico on an annual basis, for the last
five fiscal years, and quantify such aid or assistance. The Under Secretary for Management shall
submit a report to me reflecting historic levels of such aid or assistance provided annually within
30 days of the date of this memorandum.

D. Expansion of the 287(g) Program to Include State Guard Units in the Border Region
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes me to enter into an
agreement with a state or political subdivision thereof, for the purpose of authorizing qualified
officers or employees of the state or subdivision to perform the functions of an immigration
officer. This grant of authority, known as the 287(g) Program, has been a highly successful force
multiplier that authorizes state or local law enforcement personnel to perform all law enforcement
functions specified in section 287(a) of the INA, including the authority to investigate, identify,
apprehend, arrest, detain, and conduct searches of an alien for the purposes of enforcing the
immigration laws. From January 2006 through September 2015, the 287(g) Program was credited
with identifying more than 402,000 potentially removable aliens, primarily through encounters at
local jails.
Empowering state and local law enforcement agencies to assist in the enforcement of
federal immigration law is critical to an effective enforcement strategy. Aliens who engage in
criminal conduct are priorities for arrest and removal and will most likely be encountered by state
and local law enforcement officers during the course of their routine duties. It is in the interest of
the Department to partner with those state and local jurisdictions through 287(g) agreements to
assist in the arrest and removal of criminal aliens.
Pursuant to Title 32 of the United States Code, State National Guard components are
employees of their respective states and are under the command of their Governors when they are
not in federal service. Based on their training and experience, these men and women are
particularly well-suited to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law and augment
border security operations by Department components.
To maximize participation by state and local jurisdictions in the enforcement of federal
immigration law, I am directing the Director of ICE to engage with all willing and qualified law
enforcement jurisdictions for the purpose of entering into agreements under section 287(g) of the
INA. Additionally, I am directing the Commissioner of CBP and the Director of ICE to
immediately engage with the Governors of the States adjacent to the land border with Mexico and
those States adjoining such border States for the purpose of entering into agreements under
section 287(g) of the INA to authorize qualified members of the State National Guard, while such
3

members are not in federal service, or qualified members of a state militia or state defense force
under the command of the Governor, to perform the functions of an immigration officer in
relation to the investigation, apprehension, and detention of aliens in the United States.
The Commissioner ofCBP and the Director of ICE should consider the operational
functions and capabilities of the jurisdictions willing to enter into 287(g) agreements and structure
such agreements in a manner that employs the most effective enforcement model for that
jurisdiction, including the detention model, task force officer model, or joint detention-task force
officer model.

E. Commissioning a Comprehensive Study of Border Security
In 1991, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, through the former Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS), commissioned Sandia National Laboratories to "conduct a
systematic analysis of the security along the United States and Mexico Border between Ports of
Entry (POEs) and recommend measures by which control of the border could be improved." 1 In
1993, Sandia produced a three-volume report that concluded that the way to prevent illegal entry
is to impose "effective barriers on the free flow of traffic." The study concluded that "[a] threefence barrier system with vehicle patrol roads between the fences and lights will provide the
necessary discouragement."2 The Sandia study is over twenty years old and should be updated
based on the current state of border security.
Accordingly, the Under Secretary for Management is directed to commission an
immediate, comprehensive study of the security of the southern border between the ports of entry
to identify vulnerabilities and provide recommendations to enhance border security. The study
should include all aspects of the current border security environment, including the availability of
federal and state resources to develop and implement an effective border security strategy that
will achieve complete operational control of the border.

F. Border Wall Construction and Funding
A wall or similar physical barrier along the southern border is necessary to deter and
prevent the illegal entry of aliens and is a critical component of the President's overall border
security strategy. Congress has mandated the construction of physical barriers at the border to
prevent illegal immigration in several statutory provisions, including the Secure Fence Act of
2006, Pub. L. 109- 367. Consistent with the will of Congress and the need to secure the border in
the national interest, the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, in consultation with the
1

J.D. Williams, et al., Systematic Analysis oft/re Southwest Border, Sandia National Laboratories, RS-9561/93/00001
(Jan. 1993).
2

Id.
4

appropriate executive departments and agencies, and non-governmental entities having relevant
expertise, shall immediately begin planning, design, and construction of a wall or similar physical
barrier along the land border with Mexico in accordance with existing law, in the most
appropriate location and utilizing appropriate materials and technology to most effectively
achieve operational control of the border.
The Under Secretary for Management is directed to immediately identify and allocate all
sources of available funding for the planning, design, and construction of a border wall and
develop requirements for long-term funding of this project, including preparing Congressional
budget requests for the current fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years.

G. Expanding Expedited Removal Pursuant to Section 235(b)(l)(A)(iii)(I) of the INA
It is in the national interest to detain and expeditiously remove from the United States
removable aliens apprehended at the border, who have been ordered removed after consideration
and denial of their claims for relief from removal. Pursuant to section 235(b)(l)(A)(i) of the INA,
if an immigration officer determines that an arriving alien is inadmissible to the United States
under section 212(a)(6)(C) or section 212(a)(7) of the INA, the officer shall order the alien
removed from the United States without further hearing or review, unless the alien indicates an
intention to apply for asylum or a fear of persecution.
Pursuant to section 235(b)(l)(A)(iii)(I) of the INA and other provisions oflaw, I have
been granted the authority to apply the expedited removal provisions in section 235(b)(l)(A)(i)
and (ii) of the INA to aliens who have not been admitted or paroled into the United States, who
are inadmissible to the United States under section 212(a)(6)(C) or section 212(a)(7) of the INA,
and who have not affirmatively shown, to the satisfaction of an immigration officer, that they
have been continuously physically present in the United States for the two-year period
immediately prior to the determination of their inadmissibility. This expanded authority was used
in 2002 by the former INS to include aliens who arrive in the United States by sea, who are not
admitted or paroled, and who have not been physically present in the United States continuously
for the two-year period prior to a determination of inadmissibility by an immigration officer. See
67 FR 68924-01, Nov. 13, 2002. The Department expanded section 235(b)(l)(A)(i) again in 2004
to include aliens who are encountered by an immigration officer within 100 air miles of the U.S.
international land border, and who have not established to the satisfaction of an immigration
officer that they have been physically present in the U.S. continuously for the 14-day period
immediately prior to the date of encounter. See 69 FR 48877-01, Aug. 11, 2004.
The recent surge of illegal immigration at the southern border has overwhelmed federal
agencies and resources, and has created a significant national security vulnerability that presents a
clear and present danger to the United States. Thousands of aliens arrested at the border and
placed in removal proceedings have absconded and failed to appear at their removal hearings.
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Immigration courts are experiencing a historic backlog of removal cases, primarily proceedings
under section 240 of the INA. Currently, there are over 526,000 cases pending in immigration
courts around the country-a record high. 3 By contrast, there were nearly 168,000 cases pending
at the end of FY 2004 when section 235(b)(l)(A)(i) was last expanded.4 This represents an
increase of more than 200% in the number of cases pending completion. The average removal
case has been pending for more than two years before an immigration judge. 5 In some
Immigration Courts, aliens will not have their cases heard by an immigration judge for five years.
This is an unacceptable delay that affords removable aliens with no plausible claim for relief to
unlawfully remain in the United States for many years.
To ensure the prompt removal of aliens apprehended at or near the border, pursuant to
section 235(b )( 1)(A)(iii)(I) of the INA, I direct the Commissioner of CBP and the Director of ICE
to apply the expedited removal provisions of section 235(b )( 1)(A)(i) and (ii) of the INA
immediately to all aliens described in section 235(b )( 1)(A)(iii)(Il)-specifically, aliens
apprehended anywhere in the United States, who have not been admitted or paroled into the
United States, and who have not affirmatively shown, to the satisfaction of an immigration
officer, that the alien has been continuously physically present in the United States for the 90-day
period immediately prior to the determination of their inadmissibility.

H. Implementing the Provisions of Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the INA to Return Arriving
Aliens to Contiguous Countries
Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the INA authorizes the Department to return aliens arriving from a
foreign territory contiguous to the United States, to the territory from which they arrived, pending
a formal removal proceeding under section 240 of the INA. When aliens so apprehended do not
pose a risk of a subsequent illegal entry or attempted illegal entry, returning them to the foreign
contiguous territory from which they arrived pending the outcome of removal proceedings saves
the Department's detention and adjudication resources for other priority aliens.
Accordingly, subject to the requirements of section 1232, Title 8, United States Code,
related to unaccompanied alien children, CBP and ICE personnel shall return aliens described in
section 235(b)(2)(A) of the INA, who are placed in removal proceedings under section 240 of the
INA-and who, in the judgment of an ICE Field Office Director, CBP Sector Chief, or CBP
Director of Field Operations, pose no risk of recidivism-to the territory of the foreign contiguous
country from which they arrived pending the final resolution of such removal proceedings.

3

Syracuse University, Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) Data Research; available at
http://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigrationlcourt_backlog/.
4 ld.
5

Id.
6

To facilitate the completion ofremoval proceedings for aliens so returne·d, ICE Field
Office Directors, CBP Sector Chiefs, and CBP Directors of Field Operations shall make available
facilities for such aliens to appear via video teleconference. The Assistant Secretary of ICE and
the Commissioner of CBP shall consult with the Director for the Executive Office for
Immigration Review, within the Department of Justice, to establish a functional, interoperable
video teleconference system to ensure maximum capability to conduct video teleconference
removal hearings at facilities in which aliens are detained.

I. Restoring Integrity to Asylum Referrals and Credible Fear Determinations Pursuant
to Section 235(b)(l) of the INA
Arriving aliens and those who are present in the United States and have not been admitted
or paroled may assert a claim for asylum. In such cases, J;ln immigration officer must refer the
aliens for an interview by an asylum officer to determine whether they have established a credible
fear of persecution. See section 235(b)(l)(A) and (B) of the INA. To establish a credible fear of
persecution, an alien must demonstrate that there is a "significant possibility" that the alien could
establish eligibility for asylum, taking into account the credibility of the statements made by the
alien in support of the claim and such other facts as are known to the officer. See section
235(b)(l)(B)(v) of the INA.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received over 48,000 credible fear
referrals during Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 and credible fear was found in over 34,000 of those cases,
which is a positive credible fear rate of more than 70%. Far fewer of those aliens are actually
granted asylum on the basis of those claims. In FY 2016, credible fear referrals sharply increased
to nearly twice the number of the preceding year. Moreover, USCIS reported that it received over
100,000 asylum claims during FY 2016, an increase of35% over the preceding year. Of those
claims not involving unaccompanied alien minors, more than 20,000 were filed by aliens who
claimed to have resided in the United States for more than ten years and the overwhelming
majority of those applications were meritless claims filed by aliens merely seeking to be placed in
removal proceedings under section 240 of the INA for the purpose of seeking other forms of relief
from removal. Clearly, the asylum process is rife with fraud and abuse. Asylum cases should be
screened and adjudicated fairly, accurately, and expeditiously, and aliens who file meritless
claims should be removed as quickly as possible.
The Director ofUSCIS shall ensure that asylum officers conduct credible fear interviews
in a manner that allows the interviewing officer to reasonably elicit all relevant information from
the alien. In determining whether the alien has demonstrated a significant possibility that the
alien could establish eligibility for asylum, the asylum officer shall consider the statements of the
alien and determine the credibility of such statements, given the nature of the claim and the facts
known to the officer. The asylum officer shall make a positive credible fear finding only after the
officer has considered all relevant evidence and determined, based on credible evidence, that the
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alien has a significant possibility of establishing eligibility for asylum, based on established legal
authority.
The Director of USC IS shall also increase the operational capacity of the Fraud Detection
and National Security Directorate and integrate its operations more closely with the Refugee,
Asylum, and International Operations Directorate and the Field Operations Directorate to detect
and prevent fraud in the asylum and benefits adjudication processes.
The Director of USC IS, the Commissioner of CBP, and the Director of ICE shall review
fraud detection, deterrence, and prevention measures throughout their respective agencies and
provide me with a consolidated report within 90 days of the date of this memorandum regarding
fraud vulnerabilities in the asylum and benefits adjudication processes, and propose measures to
enhance fraud detection, deterrence, and prevention in these processes.

J. Allocation of Resources and Personnel to the Southern Border for Detention of
Aliens and Adjudication of Claims
The detention of aliens apprehended at the border is critical to the effective enforcement of
the immigration laws. Aliens who are released from custody pending a determination of their
removability are highly likely to abscond and fail to attend their removal hearings. Moreover, the
screening of credible fear claims and adjudication of asylum claims at detention facilities located
at or near the point of apprehension will facilitate an expedited resolution of those claims and
result in lower costs to detain and transport aliens apprehended at or near the border.
Accordingly, the Director of ICE and the Commissioner of CBP are directed to take all
necessary action and allocate all available resources to expand their detention capabilities and
capacities at or near the border with Mexico to the greatest extent practicable.
In addition, to the greatest extent practicable, the Director of USC IS is directed to increase
the number of asylum officers and anti-fraud officers assigned to detention facilities located at or
near the border with Mexico to properly and efficiently adjudicate credible fear, reasonable fear,
and asylum claims, and counter asylum-related fraud.

K. Proper Use of Parole Authority Pursuant to Section 212(d)(5) of the INA
The authority to parole aliens into the United States is set forth in section 212(d)(5) of the
INA, which provides that the Secretary may, in his discretion and on a case-by-case basis,
temporarily parole into the United States any alien for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant
public benefit. The statutory language and Congress's consistent and clear intent as expressed in
legislative history from the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to the
Illegal Immii:,rration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, requires that the parole
8

authority be used rarely, and only in exigent circumstances, in individual cases where, after
careful consideration of the circumstances, parole serves the best interests of the United States
because of demonstrated urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. The practice
of granting parole to inadmissible aliens in pre-designated categories in order to illegitimately
create immigration programs not established by Congress,, has created a border security crisis,
undermined the integrity of the immigration laws and the parole process, and created an incentive
for additional illegal immigration.
Therefore, the Director of USC IS, the Commissioner of CBP, and the Director of ICE
shall ensure that, until final regulations are promulgated clarifying the legitimate scope of the
parole power, through written policy guidance and appropriate training that all employees within
those agencies exercising parole authority under section 212(d)(5) of the INA are familiar with
the proper exercise of parole under that provision and exercise such parole authority only on a
case-by-case basis, consistent with written policy guidance.

L. Proper Processing and Treatment of Unaccompanied Alien Minors Encountered at
the Border
In accordance with section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of2008 (8 U.S.C. § 1232) and section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security
Act of2002 (6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2)), unaccompanied alien minors are provided special protections
to ensure that they are properly processed and receive the appropriate care and placement when
they are encountered by an immigration officer. An unaccompanied alien minor, defined in
section 279(g)(2), Title 6, United States , as an "unaccompanied alien child," is a minor who has
no lawful immigration status in the United States; has not attained 18 years of age; and with
respect to whom, (1) there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States, or (2) no parent of
legal guardian in the United States is available to provide care and physical custody.
Approximately 155,000 unaccompanied alien minors have been apprehended at the southern
border in the last three years. Most of these minors are from El Salvador, Honduras, and
Guatemala, and the vast majority of them travel overland to the southern border with the
assistance of a smuggler who is paid several thousand dollars by one or both parents, who reside
illegally in the United States.
Upon apprehension, CBP or ICE must immediately determine if a minor meets the
definition of an "unaccompanied alien child" and, if so, the minor must be transferred to the
custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) within 72 hours. See 8 U.S.C. § 1232(b)(3). The determination that the minor is
an "unaccompanied alien child" entitles the minor to special protections, including placement in a
suitable care facility, access to social services, removal proceedings before an immigration judge
under section 240 of the INA, rather than expedited removal proceedings under section 235(b) of
the INA, and initial adjudication of any asylum claim by USCIS. See generally 8 U.S.C. § 1232;
9

INA§ 208(b)(3)(C).
Approximately 60% of minors initially detennined to be an "'unaccompanied alien child"
are placed in the care of one or more parents illegally residing in the United States. However, by
Department policy, such minors maintained their status as an "unaccompanied alien child,"
notwithstanding that they no longer met the statutory definition because they were in the custody
of a parent in the United States who could provide care for the minor. Such a policy is
inconsistent with the statutory provisions designed to provide additional protections for
unaccompanied minors. The policy also led to abusive practices by many of the parents and legal
representatives of those minors, which has contributed to significant administrative delays in
adjudications by Immigration Courts and USCIS.
To end these abusive practices and to restore integrity to the system of identifying and
processing unaccompanied alien children consistent with the statutory framework, the Director of
USCIS, the Commissioner of CBP, and the Director of ICE are directed to develop uniform
written guidance and training for all employees and contractors of those agencies regarding the
proper processing and custodial placement of unaccompanied alien minors, the timely and fair
adjudication of their claims for relief from removal, and, if appropriate, their safe repatriation at
the conclusion of removal proceedings. In developing such guidance and training, they shall
establish standardized review procedures to detennine if alien minors who are initially determined
to be an "unaccompanied alien child," as defined in section 279(g)(2), Title 6, United States
Code, remain eligible for the special protections afforded to minors who fall within that statutory
definition.

M. Prioritizing Criminal Prosecutions for Immigration Offenses Committed at the
Border
The surge of illegal immigration at the southern border has produced a significant increase
in organized criminal activity in the border region. Mexican drug cartels, Central American
gangs, and other violent transnational criminal organizations have established sophisticated
criminal enterprises on both sides of the border. The large-scale movement of Central Americans,
Mexicans, and other foreign nationals into the border area has significantly strained federal
agencies and resources dedicated to border security. These criminal organizations have
monopolized the human trafficking and smuggling, and drug trafficking trades in the border
region. The vast majority of unaccompanied alien minors arriving in the United States were
smuggled in by these organizations. The parents of these minors, who are often illegally present
in the United States, pay smugglers several thousand dollars to bring their children into this
country. Tragically, many of these children fall victim to robbery, extortion, kidnapping, sexual
assault, and other crimes of violence by the smugglers and other criminal elements along the
dangerous journey through Mexico to the United States. It is in the national interest of the United
States to prevent criminals and criminal organizations from destabilizing border security through

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the proliferation of illicit transactions and violence perpetrated by criminal organizations.
To counter this substantial and ongoing threat to the security of the southern border, the
Commissioner of CBP and the Director of ICE are directed to create a task force at the earliest
practicable time to enhance border security and deter crime through the investigation and
prosecution of violations of federal laws within their respective law enforcement authorities. The
task force should include participants from other federal, state, and local agencies, and should
target individuals and organizations whose criminal conduct undermines border security or the
integrity of the immigration system, including offenses related to alien smuggling or trafficking,
drug trafficking, illegal entry and reentry, visa fraud, identity theft, unlawful possession or use of
official documents, and acts of violence committed against persons or property at or near the
border.

N. Public Reporting of Border Apprehensions Data
The Department has an obligation to perform its mission in a transparent and forthright
manner. The public is entitled to know, with a reasonable degree of detail, information pertaining
to the aliens unlawfully entering at our borders.
Therefore, in an effort to promote transparency and renew confidence in the Department's
border security mission, the Commissioner of CBP and the Director of ICE are directed to
develop a standardized method for public reporting of statistical data regarding aliens
apprehended at or near the border for violating the immigration law. The reporting method shall
include uniform terminology and shall utilize a format that is easily understandable by the public
and a medium that can be readily accessed. At a minimum, in addition to statistical information
currently being publicly reported regarding apprehended aliens, the following information must
be included: convicted criminals and the nature of their offenses, gang members, prior
immigration violators, custody status of aliens and, if released, the reason for release and location
of their release, aliens ordered removed, and aliens physically removed.

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