Trump Aide Appears to Walk Back Deportation Actions Amid Virus

(Bloomberg) -- A day after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it would limit deportations during the coronavirus pandemic, a Trump administration official seemed to walk that back.

ICE issued a statement Wednesday saying it would “temporarily adjust its enforcement posture” during the Covid-19 crisis to focus on criminals involved in child exploitation, drugs or gangs. ICE said it wouldn’t carry out operations at or near health care facilities and that undocumented immigrants should not avoid seeking medical care out of fear being taken into custody.

But in a series of tweets Thursday, Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the adjustment in ICE policy had been misreported by the media and that the shift “does not mean that no other removable aliens will in fact be removed.”

During the current public health emergency, “removals will be done in such a way as to minimize the exposure of our agents and of the removable aliens we are encountering,” said Cuccinelli, who is also acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees ICE.

That didn’t sit well with the American Civil Liberties Union, a national rights group that has frequently challenged President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The ACLU said the reversal goes against the advice of public health experts who say no one should be discouraged from seeking medical help.

“ICE should immediately suspend any enforcement activities that could deter individuals from accessing care,” said Andrea Flores, deputy director of policy for ACLU’s Equality Division. “People and their families must feel safe to leave their homes and seek medical help or gather the necessary supplies to keep their families safe, regardless of immigration status.”

Cuccinelli’s appointment as acting head of CIS was ruled unlawful earlier this month by a federal judge.

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