Updated January 20, 2025 at 10:58 AM ET
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to kick off a slew of executive actions related to immigration after his inauguration ceremony on Monday.
Since the early days of the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has vowed to begin his second term with both new and old efforts to curb legal migration and deport those who are in the U.S. without legal status.
"Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries and illicit narcotics that harm Americans, especially our youth," according to incoming White House officials who spoke to reporters on a background call. That offers an exaggerated view of current conditions at the border.
The officials outlined 10 actions that Trump will sign on Monday related to border security, including deploying the U.S. military and National Guard to the southern border, and ending automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents who don't have legal status — a controversial constitutional question that is likely to face immediate legal challenges.
Trump campaigned on border security promises, and he and his allies argue that his electoral win is an endorsement of his upcoming efforts on the issue.
The U.S. had seen an increase in border crossings under the Biden administration, at times reaching all-time highs. But Customs and Border Protection's recent numbers have shown a sharp decrease in unauthorized apprehensions in the past six months.
Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan also said large-scale raids to deport and detain those without legal status are set to begin as soon as Tuesday, focusing on people considered a security or safety threat.
Here are the executive actions that officials previewed:
1. Declare a national emergency at the border
The officials said this action will allow U.S. armed forces to finish the border wall, by directing the defense and homeland security secretaries to erect physical barriers at the border. It will also allow the defense secretary to deploy members of the armed forces and National Guard to the border.
2. Clarify military roles
The officials said they are going to "clarify" the military's role in protecting the territorial integrity of the United States, without directly explaining what that means.
"What this action does is to define the mission to seal our borders and introduce campaign planning requirements to the military," the officials said. "The Executive Order directs the military to prioritize our borders and territory integrity and strategic planning for its operations to maintain sovereignty, territory, integrity and security of the U.S. by repelling forms of invasion, including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking and other criminal activities."
3. End "Catch and release" and "Remain in Mexico"
Officials said they're also planning to end the policy known as "catch and release," which released those without legal status from detention while they awaited an immigration court hearing.
The action would also reinstate "Remain in Mexico," which would require some asylum seekers as the southern border to wait in Mexico for their hearings in U.S. immigration court. And it would direct the U.S. to build the wall along the southern border.
4. Designate criminal cartels as terrorists
The Trump White House plans to designate criminal cartels and others as foreign terrorist organizations and as specifically designated global terrorists — two separate legal definitions. This allows the U.S. to more easily remove members of groups like the Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal organization from Venezuela, and MS-13.
"It directs the removal of Tren de Aragua gang members, and it finds, under the Alien Enemies Act, that the gang is an irregular armed force of Venezuela's government conducting a predatory incursion and invasion into the United States," the officials said.
5. Suspend refugee resettlement
The official said the U.S. would suspend refugee resettlement for at least four months.
6. End asylum and close the border to those without legal status via proclamation
Officials said they are planning to end asylum entirely and close the border to those without legal status via proclamation, "which creates an immediate removal process without possibility of asylum."
7. End birthright citizenship
The officials said the White House plans to end birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution since 1868 and provides the right to citizenship for children born in the U.S., regardless of their parents' legal status. The officials focused on the phrase in the amendment "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" to interpret it as the federal government not recognizing automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents without legal status.
This action to change the interpretation of the amendment is likely to see immediate legal challenges.
8. "Enhance vetting and screening" of people seeking to cross the border
The officials said they are going to "enhance vetting and screening of illegal aliens. We are going to direct agencies to report to the president regarding recommendations for the suspension of entry for nationals of any country of particular concerns."
9. "Protect American citizens against invasion"
"What this particular action does is it rescinds the open borders policies of the Biden administration and equips agents and officers of ICE and CBP with the authorities" they need to deport people from the U.S. "It also reaffirms the faithful execution of the immigration laws, prioritizes enforcement actions against criminal illegal aliens and establishes federal Homeland Security Task Forces to cooperate with state and local law enforcement in the removal of gangs, criminals and illegal aliens from the United States," the officials said.
The latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll also finds that Americans are evenly split on whether to mass deport people who are in the U.S. without legal status — though divisions fall along party lines. There are also concerns about the practical impact of deportations, including where to house millions of detainees while they await deportation.
10. "Restore" the death penalty
"This action in particular, directs the attorney general to seek capital punishment for the murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by illegal aliens. It encourages state agencies and district attorneys to bring capital state charges for these crimes," the officials said.
"So as you know, this is about national security, 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. And it ends today," they said.
Capital punishment is legal at the federal level, and President Biden had pledged to abolish it — though he never worked with Congress on legislation to do so. Biden did commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row to life without parole last month.
Trump had reinstated federal executions during his first term, in 2019, after a 17-year pause.
These efforts may take time — and face challenges
Although Trump has reiterated many of these promises for over a year, they may take weeks or months to implement. Several actions will likely be the subject of legal challenges or need Congress to mobilize new funding that Trump currently does not have.
"We get into the big question marks. He's talked about using, expanding, detention facilities. That will almost certainly happen," Andrew Selee, president of the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, said in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition.
"But whether he'll be able to use military bases or not, or other federal facilities — and whether he will try and use the military itself, and that would require going back to the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798, and that will almost certainly be litigated in the courts," he said.
In fact, even quickly scaling operations might be difficult for the new administration. An NPR investigation last year found that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the agency responsible for removals, struggled to scale up to Trump's immediate demands during his first term, which included attempts to increase deportations.
Congress must also provide the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies with the funding to execute the policies.
In their final budget request, the Biden administration asked for $19 billion to fund additional personnel, facilities, repatriation capabilities and other enforcement resources along the southwest border.
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