Trump Officials Outline Planned Immigration Crackdown

By Ariana Figueroa for States Newsroom

WASHINGTON — After his inauguration as the 47th president, Donald Trump late Monday signed dozens of executive orders that will begin his immigration crackdown at the southern border.

Trump officials early Monday went into detail on those orders in a call with reporters.

Among the most prominent of the orders Trump signed was a declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“What this action does is it deploys armed forces, erect physical barriers by directing (Department of Defense) and (Department of Homeland Security) secretaries to finish the wall along the border, and allows for counter (Unmanned Aircraft System) capabilities near the southern borders,” an incoming Trump official said, speaking on background. “In addition, specifically, it directs the secretary of defense to deploy additional personnel to the border crisis, including members of the armed forces and the National Guard.”

Trump’s pick to carry out his immigration plans, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, completed her confirmation hearing last week and is likely to get a vote in the Senate in the coming days.

Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, was grilled by Senate Democrats during his confirmation hearing, but is considered likely to be approved by Republicans when his nomination is brought to the floor.

Emergency Order

The national emergency executive order at the southern border also requires, within 90 days, for the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretaries to submit a joint report to the president “about the conditions at the southern border of the United States and any recommendations regarding additional actions that may be necessary to obtain complete operational control of the southern border, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807.”

The Insurrection Act of 1807 grants the president the authority to deploy the U.S. military domestically and use it against Americans under certain conditions, such as domestic unrest like civil disorder or rebellion.

Another executive order ended several forms of legal immigration such as the use of humanitarian parole programs for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. It also ended the use of the CBP One app that allowed migrants to make appointments with asylum officers. The app was shut down within an hour of Trump’s inauguration.

Noem had noted in her confirmation hearing that on Trump’s first day in office the app would be suspended, but that DHS would maintain the data collected.

Nearly 1 million migrants have used the app to secure appointments, according to CBP data.

Later Monday, the ACLU filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, against the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the CBP One app.

That same executive order also reinstated policies from the first Trump administration such as the so-called Remain in Mexico policy.

Under that order, asylum seekers were required to remain in Mexico — often in dangerous circumstances — while their asylum cases were pending in the courts, something that can take months or even years.

It also reinstated a ban on so-called “catch and release,” which allows migrants who are detained to live in U.S. communities while they await having their asylum cases heard by an immigration judge.

It also directs the Secretary of DHS to establish contracts in order to “construct, operate, control, or use facilities to detain removable” immigrants.

The Military and The Border

Additionally, the executive orders will clarify the U.S. military’s role in protecting U.S. territory, the Trump official said.

“What this action does is it assigns the mission to seal our borders and institutes campaign planning requirements for the military,” the official said. “The executive order directs the military to prioritize our borders and territorial integrity and strategic planning for its operations to maintain sovereignty, territory integrity and security of the U.S against all forms of invasion, including unlawful mass migration, narcotic trafficking, human smuggling, attacking and other criminal activities.”

Trump also reinstated an executive order from his first administration, which issued guidance on immigration enforcement policies to focus on removing undocumented immigrants. The Biden administration rescinded that order in 2021.

Asylum, Birthright Citizenship

Some of the incoming administration’s actions are likely to face immediate legal challenges. Officials said they plan to move to end asylum — something that is in U.S. law — as well as birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed in the 14th Amendment and affirmed in an 1898 U.S. Supreme Court case.

“The federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States,” a Trump official said.

Trump acknowledged that the executive order he signed regarding birthright citizenship might face legal hurdles.

“I think we have good grounds,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

One of the executive orders Trump signed also designates cartel groups as global terrorists.

Another will suspend refugee resettlement operations for at least four months, starting on January 27. The U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement handles unaccompanied minors and helps refugees settle into the U.S. In fiscal year 2024, the office resettled more than 100,000 refugees in the country.

Another executive order will direct the attorney general to pursue capital punishment — the death penalty — for the murder of law enforcement officials and capital crimes committed by people in the country without legal authorization.

However, the White House stated that the Department of Justice intends to seek the death penalty for “illegal migrants who maim and murder Americans.”

“This is about public safety, and this is about the victims of some of the most violent, abusive criminals we’ve seen enter our country in our lifetime,” the Trump official said. “And it ends today.”

Last updated 7:14 p.m., January 20, 2025