US Homeland staff face ‘heightened threat’ over Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy

In a memo to employees on Saturday, deputy DHS Secretary Claire Grady warned the staff that the number of threats against the department have risen, urging them to take precaution, The Hill reported Monday.

"Unfortunately, there are those who misconstrue your work in a negative way or seek to disrupt your work to advance outside agendas. As a result, sometimes our employees face threats," Grady wrote in an email.

The staff were urged to remove their badges in public and contact law enforcement if they feel threatened.

“In recent days, DHS has determined there may be a heightened threat against DHS employees in response to US government actions surrounding immigration,” Grady added.

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has reportedly been the main focus of the threats.

Nielsen has defended the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, which was enacted by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in April.

The warning came despite US President Donald Trump’s executive order to unilaterally halt the family separations.

The Republican president has vowed to crack down on immigration but has failed to get his complete agenda through so far.

Since campaigning for the 2016 presidential election, Trump has been accused of stoking racial, ethnic and religious tensions lurking within America.