On Thursday, Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security, discussed future plans to re-examine the controversial immigration enforcement program Secure Communities.

Johnson appeared on PBS' "NewsHour" where he said that, since March 13, he's been reexamining immigration enforcement, including taking a "fresh look" at Secure Communities. The program was started in 2008 and encourages law enforcers to help turn undocumented immigrants in to the federal government by sending their fingerprints, according to Politico.

"The program has become very controversial, and I told a group of sheriffs and chiefs that I met with a couple days ago that I thought we needed a fresh start," Johnson said.

Johnson has been meeting with mayors and governors about plans to modify Secure Communities' details. According to Politco, the Secure Communities program has been criticized for causing the deportation of immigrants for minor offenses. Johnson said he believes that changes "should come" by near term.

"We're in the midst of evaluating potential revisions to our policies right now," Johnson said. "I have been having meetings as recently as today."

Johnson was not too specific about how big these changes will actually be. Many immigration advocates push for the expansice the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, which prevents the deportation of the those who were brought to the United States as children, to include the parents or those over the age of 30. This may not be not at the top of the agenda; Johnson is still in the "midst" of his review on the subject.

"I have talked to a number of individuals, concerned groups about the potential for expanding the DACA program, revising our removal priorities, and I would say that we have to be careful not to preempt Congress in certain areas," Johnson said.

Johnson argues that he and his team must use "a fair amount of discretion" when it comes to initiating changes in immigration enforcement.

"They are the lawmakers," Johnson said. "Whatever we do in the executive branch, we have to do within the confines of existing law."

Johnson also addressed reports of excessive force at border security. He has reportedly been to the south border three times in the past six months.

"I decided we should ... make our use-of-force policies more transparent, and the chief has modified those use-of-force policies to deal more explicitly with incidents like rock-throwing, for example," Johnson said. "That change was made about two months ago, and I think it was greeted with a pretty positive reaction. So, I think we're in a better place."


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