President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has asked the Department of Homeland Security for records and executive orders related to immigration, border security and border barriers, reported Reuters.
According to the report, the transition team also inquired about the agency's ability to expand the use of immigrant detention centers, as well as the reinstatement of an aerial surveillance effort that was dismantled by the Obama administration.
The news comes from an internal DHS memo reviewed by Reuters that revealed the requests were made at a Dec. 5 meeting between agency officials and the transition team.
Trump made the construction of a border wall paid for by Mexico a centerpiece of his campaign, but has toned down his rhetoric since the election. Mexico has repeatedly stated it will never pay for a wall, and concerns over the costs and consequences of a physical barrier have been voiced from the right and left.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the DHS agency in charge of border security, reportedly identified 400 miles on the southern border that could be suitable for construction of a barrier.
The border is 1,989 miles long. Roughly 700 miles of fencing have been constructed since the Clinton administration.
The transition team also requested all executive orders and directives sent to immigration officials by the Obama administration.
On the campaign trail, Trump said he would deport every undocumented immigrant in the country. At his announcement address, Trump said Mexico "sends" its people, some of whom he characterized as "rapists" who "bring crime."
But Trump softened his tone in December, when he said he would focus deportations on up to 3 million undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
Trump also campaigned against Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). That program required undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children to sign up and provide all their personal information to the federal government in exchange for receiving a temporary work permit.
The transition team requested migrant information that had been changed for any reason, including civil rights concerns.
A DHS official told Reuters that request had been interpreted as a way for the transition team to make sure agency officials had not tampered with DACA records.
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