Anaya Nolan
On the first day of his second term as President of the United States, Donald Trump issued ten executive orders and proclamations seeking to change US immigration law and policy. The Trump administration has vowed to take strict action to restrict both lawful and unlawful immigration into the US, including limiting access to humanitarian forms of relief, closing the southern border, and pursuing the removal of noncitizens. Trump's actions have been criticised for threatening the fundamental right to due process and making it easier to deport people.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Immigration policy changes | Sweeping changes affecting thousands of migrants |
| Scope of changes | Nearly every aspect of the complex and exacting system |
| Changes to vetting | Re-establishing the level of vetting from the first term |
| Changes to work permits | Preventing unauthorized immigrants from receiving public benefits |
| Changes to public charge policy | Includes noncash benefits relating to healthcare or nutrition assistance |
| Changes to humanitarian forms of relief | Limiting entry of humanitarian migrants by restricting refugee limits |
| Changes to Diversity Immigrant Visa program | Ending the program through which 55,000 green cards are to be issued in 2026 |
| Changes to birthright citizenship | Denying citizenship to children born in the US with undocumented parents |
| Changes to deportation | Deportation of millions of immigrants, including long-term residents |
| Changes to asylum | Using the US military to repel asylum-seekers |
| Changes to refugee admissions | Shutting down the CBP One application for asylum seekers |
| Changes to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) | Eliminating TPS designations for immigrants from some countries |
| Changes to family separation policy | Putting children in detention centres |
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What You'll Learn
Trump's immigration law changes: the second term
On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump issued ten executive orders aimed at overhauling US immigration law and policy. These executive orders touched on nearly every aspect of the complex and exacting immigration system.
The Trump administration has acted quickly on its campaign promises to focus on immigration. This includes the aggressive pursuit of the removal of noncitizens, pressuring states and localities to cooperate in immigration enforcement, limiting access to humanitarian forms of relief, and closing the southern border. The administration has also indicated that it plans to carry out mass detentions and deportations of millions of immigrants, including long-term residents, which could lead to family separations and negative mental and physical health consequences.
Some of the executive orders were executed within the first 48 hours, while others will require further scrutiny and guidance in the coming weeks and months and will be subjected to lawsuits challenging their implementation. The executive orders signed on the first day of President Trump’s second term radically expand the legal authorities used to target immigrants.
The Trump administration may also seek to change the underlying regulations that allow many unauthorized immigrants to obtain work permits. Any effort to either violate existing regulations on work-permit eligibility or change those regulations would likely be subject to lawsuits. The instruction to OMB to prevent unauthorized immigrants from receiving public benefits is vague, and it is unclear how this will impact future policy changes.
The administration has also declared that it wishes to reestablish the level of vetting that existed during its first term. This serves as a signal to watch for obstacles and delays throughout the legal immigration system. Policy changes are not always formally announced, and it is not always clear why delays occur.
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Trump's executive orders: the impact on immigration
On the first day of his second term, President Trump issued ten executive orders aimed at overhauling US immigration law and policy. These executive orders touched nearly every aspect of the complex and exacting system. The Trump administration has followed up on the record of its first term and the promises of its presidential campaign, with an effort to redefine America to exclude everyone from border-crossers seeking refuge to children born next month to parents who are in the US on temporary visas.
The executive orders include novel legal arguments that fully task the US military with repelling asylum seekers, threaten aggressive use of criminal penalties to ensure compliance, and open the door to future invocations of the centuries-old Insurrection Act and Alien Enemies Act. The orders also direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State to implement stricter "enhanced vetting" for visa applicants and those already in the country.
The Trump administration has declared an ongoing "invasion" of migrants at the southern border and has invoked Article IV of the Constitution to prohibit the entry of any person, including asylum seekers, at the southern border. DHS will block asylum seekers and any other individuals' entries into the United States at the southern border. The administration may seek to change the underlying regulations that allow many unauthorized immigrants to obtain work permits.
The executive orders have been criticized for their potential negative impact on the health and well-being of immigrant families, as well as their potential major economic consequences for the nation. Increased immigration boosts federal revenues and lowers the national deficit through immigrants' participation in the country's economy, workforce, and tax contributions. The orders also threaten to turn all immigrants into criminals by setting them up for the "crime" of failing to register.
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Trump's plans for mass deportations: the legality
President Donald Trump has been quick to act on his campaign promise to focus on immigration. On the first day of his second term in office, he issued ten executive orders and proclamations seeking to change US immigration law and policy.
Trump has stated that he will declare a national emergency and use the US military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. He plans to use a 1798 wartime statute known as the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged gang members, an action that would almost certainly be challenged in court. The law has only been used three times in US history: during the War of 1812, World War One, and World War Two, when it was used to justify internment camps.
Trump's administration may also seek to change the regulations that allow unauthorized immigrants to obtain work permits. They could also violate existing regulations on work-permit eligibility, which would likely be subject to lawsuits. The instruction to the OMB to prevent unauthorized immigrants from receiving public benefits is vague, and it is unclear what future policy changes it signals.
Trump's plan for mass deportations would include cooperation with Republican-led states and the use of federal funding as leverage against resistant jurisdictions. The scale of the deportations would depend on the number of potential officers and detention spaces available.
To deport immigrants on the scale Trump envisions, he would need to arrest millions of individuals, place them in removal proceedings before immigration judges, litigate those cases in the immigration courts, resolve any appeals, and then remove them from the United States—every year. Each stage of this process has its own requirements and procedures under the Constitution and the immigration statutes.
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Trump's immigration law changes: due process and civil liberties
In his second term as President, Donald Trump has been quick to act on his campaign promises to restrict immigration. He has issued a series of executive orders and proclamations that touch nearly every aspect of the US immigration system. Trump's immigration policies have been criticised for undermining the fundamental right to due process and civil liberties.
Trump's administration has aggressively pursued the removal of noncitizens, pressured states and localities to cooperate in immigration enforcement, limited access to humanitarian forms of relief, and closed the southern border. The administration has also ended the right to seek asylum at the US-Mexico border and paused processing green cards for refugees, asylum seekers, and some Cubans, even those who qualify. These actions have made it easier to deport people and have resulted in family separations.
Trump has also targeted attorneys and law firms, alleging that they "coach clients to conceal their past or lie about their circumstances" when seeking asylum. He has threatened sanctions and retribution against those who work on legal challenges that he disagrees with. These actions have made it more difficult for immigrants to access legal representation, reducing their chances of a fair outcome in the immigration court system.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has called the administration's actions "chilling, unfounded, and dangerous". The AILA's president, Kelli Stump, has stated that the organisation "will not be intimidated". The ACLU is also working to identify ways pro-civil liberties jurisdictions can ensure they are not complicit in tearing apart their communities.
Trump's immigration policies have been criticised for wasting billions of dollars, creating greater inefficiencies in immigration courts, and increasing suffering and injustice for immigrants and their families. They have also been described as a threat to democracy and human dignity.
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Trump's immigration law changes: public charge rules and access to benefits
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to take strict action to restrict both lawful and unlawful immigration into the US. On the first day of his second term, Trump issued ten executive orders and proclamations seeking to reshape US immigration law and policy.
Trump's administration has indicated that it wishes to reestablish the level of vetting that existed during its first term. This includes limiting the entry of humanitarian migrants by restricting refugee limits, shutting down the CBP One application for asylum seekers, and eliminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for immigrants from some countries.
Trump's first term saw the lowest annual refugee admissions ceiling, ranging from 50,000 in 2017 to 18,000 in 2020. The Biden administration increased this limit to 65,000 in 2021 and further in 2022 and 2024. However, as of November 2024, Trump had not indicated whether he would reinstate his first term changes to public charge policy.
Trump's 'Public Charge' immigration rule created a wealth test that would deny green cards to immigrants deemed likely to use public benefits. This policy was vacated by a federal judge in 2020, who stated that it exceeded the authority of the executive branch. The rule broadened the definition of 'public charge' to include immigrants who received benefits such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing assistance, and childcare subsidies for more than 12 months within any 36-month period.
The public charge rule led to decreased participation in public programs and placed a heavy burden on local governments and community-based organizations. It also caused confusion and fear, with many immigrants and their US-born relatives avoiding eligible benefits and services due to concerns about negative immigration consequences.
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Frequently asked questions
Trump has promised to redefine America to exclude everyone from border-crossers seeking refuge to children born to non-citizen parents. He has also indicated that he will end birthright citizenship, which is a guaranteed right under the US Constitution. He has also promised to carry out mass detentions and deportations of millions of immigrants, including long-term residents.
These changes will have stark impacts on the health and well-being of immigrant families and major economic consequences for the nation. It could also negatively impact the healthcare workforce and the economy.
Trump's first term saw an increase in deportations from the interior relative to Obama's second term, but it did not come close to Obama's first term. Trump's first term also saw the introduction of extreme vetting for visa applicants and a significant reduction in refugee admissions.
Trump's changes will face legal challenges if they conflict with written laws or treaties promising visas to specific groups of people.
Trump can slow-walk the routine work of immigration processing, reducing legal migration pathways. He can also put pressure on "sanctuary cities" that limit cooperation with federal enforcement efforts.
