There have been a number of executive orders from President Trump since he took office on January 20, 2025. What do these orders say and what do they mean for immigrants?
First, President Trump issued an executive order to rescind some of the Biden Administration policies including the establishment of a taskforce to revise civil immigration policies and priorities, to manage migration throughout North and Central America, reunification of families, resettling refugees, and planning for the impact of climate change on migration.
These will set the stage for the expansion of removal processes in immigration. Removals by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have already begun in several cities. Benjamin Huffman, the acting secretary of The Department of Homeland Security has already issued directives to raid schools and churches saying “Criminals will no longer hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has published a helpful guide if ICE shows up at your door.
They also did this handy guide to help you in multiple languages: Know Your Rights | Immigrants’ Rights | ACLU. This guide has been published in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Somali, Spanish, and Urdu among other languages.
The next Executive Order is the Executive Order Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship. This order attempts of rescind the 14th Amendment to the U.S. constitution which grants birth-right citizenship to any one born in the United States. Regarding this Order, Honorable John Coughenour, a Reagan-appointed federal judge said: “I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is,” U.S. District Judge John Coughenour told a Justice Department attorney. “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.” The judge scheduled a hearing on February 6, 2025 to decide whether to block it long term as the case proceeds. In addition, 22 states have sued to stop this from becoming law. As it is still in the legal system as to whether it will be blocked or not, it is important to not panic.
Next is the Executive Order Protecting the American People Against Invasion, calling for the maximal enforcement of immigration law. The order also specifies that illegal entry, unlawful presence, and people with final orders of removal. It also calls for detention for everyone pending resolution of their cases and expanding facility capacity. It calls for registration of undocumented aliens and reestablishes the Office of Victims of Immigrant Crimes (VOICE).
This is stigmatizing to immigrants and reminiscent of the post-9/11 National Security Entry Exit Registration Systems (NSEERS) that was required of Muslim and Arab-majority immigrants to register. The program was ended in 2016 after it was found to result in abuses due to racial, ethnic, and religious profiling. This executive order could invite that again, but for immigrants from Central and South American nations. This also will restrict humanitarian parole, granting of work benefits, and access to public benefits.
Next is the Executive Order Securing Our Borders which restarts the Migrant Protection Protocols (also known as Remain in Mexico) which requires people to wait in Mexico for their immigration court hearings. It also halts the humanitarian parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV). There is no word on Afghan and Ukrainians, BUT many experts are saying the language in the executive order “categorical” refers to those groups of people who need humanitarian parole due to their situations at home. It also ends the practice of releasing people into the United States while they wait for their pending court hearing.
This eliminates asylum for people trying to enter the United States from the southern border and will probably result in another humanitarian crisis like it did during President Trump’s first administration when he put the Migrant Protection Protocols in place the first time. Camp conditions were reported on from the border.
The CHNV parole programs actually helped to streamline and improve the arrival of thousands of people in an orderly fashion. Along with Afghans and Ukrainians, this will create longer wait times at ports of entry, not just for former parolees, but other immigrants as well. Detention centers will fill very quickly and if they expand detention in other states, those will fill quickly as well. American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) states “Notably, past policies that turn away asylum seekers at the border or force them to wait long periods at ports of entry have been unsuccessful and lead to more people crossing between ports of entry.”
Next is the Executive Order Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border and the Executive Order Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats. Both of these deal with immigration but will likely be used together. The first is trying to use the United States Military to go to the border and execute mass deportations. The second is paving the way to justify travel bans as they were immediately challenged in Trump’s first administration.
The concerns for these two is 1) is it appropriate or even lawful to mobilize the military in civil immigration enforcement? The military are not immigration officials and that can violate Section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This will also have excessive force used against migrants, asylum seekers, and even people who “look” like immigrants as all these policies are rolling out at the same time.
Other measures in the executive orders have included suspending the U.S. refugee program indefinitely, with flights for refugees that were already cleared having been cancelled by the Administration. The issue with this is that refugees contributed nearly $124 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue according to a 2024 government study.
These Orders have one things in common: make life miserable for anyone who is not a United States citizen. It will only intimidate the most vulnerable. Lady Liberty weeps for these United States.