Trump immigration order could target 8M undocumented workers: report

President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration enforcement may put 8 million undocumented workers in the United States at risk of deportation, according to an analysis conducted by the Los Angeles Times.

“Almost everyone who is here illegally could potentially be considered a priority,” Jessica Vaughn, the Center for Immigration Studies’ director of policy studies, told the newspaper.

The order, signed Jan. 25, will allow immigration officials to detain anyone they encounter who has illegally crossed the border.

{mosads}The newspaper notes that the order calls for officials to deport undocumented workers who have been convicted of crimes and those who may have perpetrated “acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense.” This extends to the estimated 6 million people thought to have crossed a border “without passing through an official border crossing,” according to the Times.

The newspaper based its conclusions on conversations with immigration experts and internal documents detailing how officials are interpreting Trump’s executive order.

“We are going back to enforcement chaos — they are going to give lip service to going after criminals, but they really are going to round up everybody they can get their hands on,” immigration lawyer David Leopold told the Times.