Trump To Sign 10 Executive Orders On Border And Immigration
By Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal | January 20, 2025
President Donald Trump will make good on his promise to take action to secure the border on Day One of his administration with a slew of executive orders. “President Trump’s executive orders will certainly send a clear message: we are entering a new era of strength and pure grit,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., told The Daily Signal in an email Monday morning. “He’s not backing down! President Trump is taking our border back just like he promised he would—and the American people are fully behind him.”
Trump will sign 10 border-related executive orders shortly after his inauguration, according to incoming White House officials.
“Trump is doing exactly what he said he was going to do: put America First and deliver on the mandate given to him,” Addison McDowell, R-N.C., told The Daily Signal. “It’s Day One and he’s designating cartels as terrorists, ending catch and release, and closing our border—that’s the leadership we’ve been missing. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to codify these executive orders into law and make sure my district, and this country, is better tomorrow than it was yesterday.”
The executive orders will include:
- Declaration of National Emergency at the Border
- Clarifying the Military’s Role and Protecting Territorial Integrity of US
- End “Catch and Release,” Reinstate Remain in Mexico, Build the Wall
- Designate Cartels as “Global Terrorists”
- Suspend Refugee Resettlement
- End Asylum and Close the Border
- End Birthright Citizenship for Children of Illegal Aliens
- Enhance Vetting and Screening of Illegal Aliens
- Protect Against Invasion (aka Launch Deportations)
- Restore the Death Penalty in Public Safety
“President Trump is responding to the national crisis the Biden administration intentionally created with its open border policies,” Lora Ries, director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal. “[Former President Joe] Biden grossly abused asylum, immigration parole, the refugee resettlement program, family reunification, and so much more to bring in at least 13 million inadmissible aliens.”
Declaration of National Emergency at the Border
Trump will declare a national emergency at the southern border, unlocking access to additional resources to secure the border, incoming White House officials told press on a call Monday morning.
The emergency declaration allows for additional forces, such as the National Guard, to be deployed to the border. The order also directs the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to finish the border wall and allow for use of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems, such as the use of radars, near the southern border.
Clarifying the Military’s Role and Protecting Territorial Integrity of US
This executive action aims to seal the U.S. border and institute campaign planning requirements for the military, according to the incoming White House officials.
The order will direct the U.S. military to prioritize the security of the borders through strategic planning that is aimed at mainlining the sovereignty and integrity of the borders. These efforts will focus on repelling all invasion threats that include illegal mass immigration and criminal activity such as narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, and smuggling.
End ‘Catch and Release,’ Reinstate Remain in Mexico, Build the Wall
Trump’s border-related executive orders include an end to “catch and release” and reinstatement of “Remain in Mexico,” a policy that requires migrants to wait in Mexico until their asylum case can be heard before an immigration judge.
Trump ended the practice of catch and release under his first administration, but Biden reinstated the practice of Border Patrol paroling illegal aliens into the U.S. after initial apprehension.
Under Trump’s first term, over 400 miles of new border wall was erected. Trump has been vocal about his plan to continue wall construction.
According to the incoming White House officials, this executive order also includes provisions to detain and deport illegal immigrants, prioritize public safety, and develop federal and state partnerships to enforce immigration policies and priorities.
Designate Cartels as ‘Global Terrorists’
The criminal cartels, such as groups like MS-13 and the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, will be designated as SEOs and specifically designated global terrorists, according to Trump’s team.
The order directs for the removal of Tren de Aragua and, under the Alien Enemies Act, labels the gang an “irregular armed force of Venezuela’s government conducting a predatory incursion and invasion into the United States.”
The criminal cartels “act like terrorist organization,” Tom Homan, Trump’s incoming border czar, told The Daily Signal in December, adding, “absolutely they should be [designated as] terrorist organizations.”
“In these executive orders, President Trump sent a message to the cartels that their time of brutality and control along our Southwest border is at an end,” Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., said. “He sent a message to criminal illegal aliens that they have no place wreaking havoc in our communities. He sent a message to the men and women on the frontlines defending our borders and enforcing our immigration laws that they have this administration’s full support in their critical missions.”
“I look forward to working with the Trump administration and other Committees of jurisdiction to continue this vital work to secure our borders. With the chaos of the last four years behind us, it is now a new day in America—and thank God it is,” Green, who serves as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, added.
Suspend Refugee Resettlement
The Trump administration says it plans to suspend refugee resettlement for at least four months.
End Asylum and Close the Border
Using a presidential proclamation, Trump will end asylum and close the border to illegal entry.
“Americans across the country use the same word to describe what Biden unleashed: ‘chaos,’” according to Ries. “That includes over 9 million immigration applications backlogged at DHS and another nearly 4 million cases pending in the DOJ immigration court system. We need a pause in applications until we can get those backlogs down to a manageable level—each year.”
End Birthright Citizenship
The 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Relying on the phrase in this amendment, “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” Trump plans to sign an executive order ending the automatic recognition of birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the U.S.
Enhance Vetting and Screening of Illegal Aliens
Agencies will also be required to provide Trump with specific recommendations for suspending entry into the U.S. for those from nations that may pose a concern to the U.S.
Protect Against Invasion
In a sweeping executive action, Trump plans to rescind the “open border policies” of the Biden administration. This order will give Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement the authorities needed to deport illegal aliens.
The order further affirms the enforcement of U.S. border and immigration laws and prioritizes enforcement actions against criminal illegal immigrants.
Under the order, Department of Homeland Security task forces will be established to work with state and local law enforcement in the removal of gangs, criminals, and illegal aliens from the U.S.
Restore Death Penalty in Public Safety
Under the final border-related executive order that Trump plans to sign Monday, the U.S. attorney general will be directed to seek the death penalty for illegal aliens who are found guilty of murdering a law enforcement officer. The order also directs state attorneys general and district attorneys to bring capital state charges against illegal aliens for such a crime.
“While Biden sat idle for four years, President Trump is taking bold action on Day One to make America safe again,” Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal.
“The American people voted overwhelmingly for secure borders, and these executive orders deliver exactly what they demanded,” Pfluger, who serves as chairman of the Republican Study Committee, added. “From deploying our military to ending catch and release, we’re finally putting American safety first and crushing the cartels that threaten our communities. The [Republican Study Committee] stands ready to work around the clock with President Trump to secure our border and restore the rule of law in our great nation.”
Virginia Allen is a senior news producer for The Daily Signal and host of "The Daily Signal Podcast" and "Problematic Women."
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