Story highlights The memo was submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget

The move would likely be controversial

Washington (CNN) The White House is considering a proposal to move both the State Department bureau of Consular Affairs and its bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to the Department of Homeland Security, a senior White House official tells CNN.

The move, which the White House official cautioned was far from becoming official policy, would likely be controversial among diplomats and experts in State Department matters.

The bureau of Consular Affairs is one of the largest sections of the State Department. Its many responsibilities include issuing passports and assisting citizens overseas by putting out travel alerts and helping with emergency services. The bureau is also tasked with granting temporary visas to foreigners who want to visit or work in the United States.

"It would be a huge mistake," said Anne Richard, who led the bureau of Population Refugees, and Migration during President Barack Obama's second term.

The proposals were written in a memo submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget from the White House Domestic Policy Council as part of President Trump's March executive order pushing for ideas for Government Reorganization.

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