Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has deputized up to 600 law enforcement officers from the State Department to serve as immigration enforcement officers.

Ms. Noem on Tuesday signed a memo granting the powers to special agents from the Diplomatic Security Service.

The move follows an earlier order from the Trump administration deputizing Justice Department personnel from the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive and the Bureau of Prisons.

Those agencies have helped U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel as they spread into communities looking for deportation targets.

The DSS has some experience with immigration enforcement through its investigation of passport fraud, since illegal immigrants who steal someone else’s identity will sometimes apply for a passport under the bogus identity.

Immigrant rights groups have complained about the Department of Homeland Security roping in other agencies, arguing they are trained to handle criminal enforcement but not the civil enforcement that undergirds most of ICE’s deportation mission.

While crossing the border illegally is a crime, being in the county without permission is just a civil offense and the punishment is removal.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.