Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly unveiled new policies on Tuesday that are aimed at detaining and deporting more immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
The two memos, signed by Kelly, lay out a series of steps the department plans to take to implement President Donald Trump's executive orders from late January. Those orders called for increased border security and better enforcement of the nation's immigration laws.
While the new policies call for a "surge" in the deployment of immigration judges and other personnel, DHS officials said the agency is not planning mass deportations and that many of the new policies would take time to implement.
"We don't need a sense of panic necessarily in these communities," one official said in a conference call with reporters.
Under the new rules, the department would greatly expand the number of immigrants who are prioritized for removal. This includes unauthorized immigrants who may have committed a crime but not been charged, and anyone an immigration officer deems a risk to public safety or national security. The policies also make it more difficult for migrants to claim asylum.