Here's what to know about Trump's sweeping executive action on immigration and the border
Declaring a national emergency and deploying armed military personnel to the southern border.
Planning mass deportations.
Ending birthright citizenship.
Reinstating "Remain in Mexico."
Designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Instituting travel and asylum bans.
Donald Trump plans to take sweeping actions on the border and immigration as the 47th president of the United States.
Trump on Monday signed 10 executive actions related to border security and immigration enforcement.
Together, the executive actions on his first day in office were intended to return America to common-sense immigration policy and restore American sovereignty, said an incoming White House official, who stated over the past four years under the Biden administration the U.S. has been invaded 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."
Here are the 10 executive actions on border security and immigration policy signed by Trump:
1. Declare a national emergency to increase military presence at the border.
Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border and directed the Department of Defense to increase the U.S. military’s involvement there, including deploying more troops.
Trump view: "With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."
Opponent view: Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., posted on BlueSky: “Migrant crossings plummeted this past year, but Trump is declaring a crisis at the border to weaponize the military against legal immigrants and even US citizens. Instilling fear with fake emergencies to give yourself supreme power is right out of the Reichstag playbook.”
2. Clarify the military's role in protecting U.S. territorial integrity.
The Trump administration directed the armed forces to prioritize the Southwestern border in its strategic planning. Trump wants the military to play a more prominent role in securing the border to “(repel) forms of invasion, including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking and other criminal activities.”
Trump view: "I will send troops to the Southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country."
3. End 'Catch and release,' reinstate 'Remain in Mexico,' and build the wall
The Trump administration plans to resume constructing the U.S.-Mexico border wall, reviving a multibillion-dollar project halted by President Biden. During Trump’s first term, 450 miles of barriers were built, mostly replacing existing fencing.
Trump will reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” program, which requires asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings. In June 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration to suspend the program. Reinstating the program also would require the Mexican government's approval.
Additionally, Trump plans to invoke executive authority to restrict asylum and expedite deportations at the southern border, officials said. Changes in border policy under the Biden administration, combined with Mexico’s migration efforts, already have contributed to a four-year low in illegal crossings.
Supporter view: Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, a first-term lawmaker who is part of a group of House members seeking to codify the “Remain in Mexico” policy, told Fox News Digital earlier this month: "The American people gave President Trump and Republicans a mandate to secure the border, and Congress must pass the Remain In Mexico Act as a first step to secure our border and fix the problems Democrats created in our country.”
Opponent view: Laura St. John, the legal director at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, said in a written statement last week: “Remain in Mexico was a catastrophic policy from both a humanitarian and a due process perspective. This policy exposed vulnerable, displaced migrants to kidnappings, enforced disappearances, assaults, sexual violence, and homelessness.”
4. Designate cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and global terrorists
Trump labeled cartels and global gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. This executive action places a target on groups that oversee much of the illicit migrant and drug flow across the southern border.
Incoming White House officials named the Tren de Aragua gang, a group from Venezuela, as well as the MS-13 gang, an American gang that spread to Central American countries like El Salvador.
The administration intends to invoke the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts to remove Tren de Aragua members, calling them an “armed force of the Venezuelan government” conducting a “predatory incursion and invasion.”
Trump view: "By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks, bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities. As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions. And that is exactly what I am going to do."
Supporter view: "To secure our borders, protect our communities, and defend our sovereignty, we must confront the cartels with the full force of the law,” said Chad Wolf, a former acting Homeland Security Secretary during the first Trump administration and now executive director of the America First Policy Institute. "The FTO designation sends a clear message that their extortion, trafficking and violence will not be tolerated, and we will act decisively to dismantle their networks and restore safety and justice to our borders."
Opponent view: Katherine Yon Ebright, a counsel in the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, posted a thread about the use of the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts on X: “I have no problem with a president deporting someone who's been convicted for transnational criminal activity. The problem with the Alien Enemies Act is that it bypasses due process and targets people based on their birth heritage, not their actual conduct."
5. Suspend refugee resettlement for 'at least four months'
The Trump administration will suspend the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for “at least four months,” according to an incoming White House official.
The president decides yearly admissions after consulting with Congress, with no fixed floor or cap. The program allows refugees fleeing persecution or war to enter the U.S. legally after interviews, security checks and medical screenings.
A similar action was taken in January 2017 during the first Trump administration, when the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program was suspended for 120 days.
The administration admitted fewer and fewer refugees through the first four years Trump was in office, setting a record low cap of 15,000 during his last year in office. By comparison, the Biden administration set a target goal of 125,000 refugee admissions for the 2025 fiscal year, the same as the three previous fiscal years. Arizona received 9,018 refugees in fiscal year 2024, according to the Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program. The highest number came from Cuba, 4,220.
Opponent view: Connie Phillips, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, which has helped resettle more than 100 refugees so far this year, told The Arizona Republic: "All of the research about refugee resettlement is that it is an economic asset for us and a lifesaving response. There is not a downside for the refugee resettlement program for the United States, and we are very disappointed that we will have to suspend operations of this for a period of time and just hope we can get back on track."
6. End asylum at the border
This executive order calls for the immediate removal of migrants who enter illegally and makes those who do ineligible to apply for asylum. This is a continuation of a policy put in place by the Biden administration in June that has already led to a sharp decrease in Border Patrol encounters.
Opponent view: Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., posted on X: "Our immigration system needs reform. But targeting refugees, asylum seekers fleeing violence, and ending birthright citizenship is cruel & wrong. Every American family came here at one point in search of a better life. Surely we can fix our broken system while living up to our ideals as a nation of immigrants."
7. End birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants
This is one of the biggest border announcements. For more than 100 years, nearly everyone born in the U.S. has received citizenship automatically. Birthright citizenship is rooted in the 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War and granted citizenship to everyone born in the U.S., including Black people. The amendment was later interpreted to apply to everyone born in the U.S., including the children of undocumented immigrants. Trump's executive action, however, states that a phrase in the 14th Amendment, "and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," should be reinterpreted to "clarify" that the federal government does not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants.
Opponent view: U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. posted on X: "Ending birthright citizenship is anti-American and unconstitutional. Plain and simple. We need to address our broken immigration system and secure the border. But executive actions like this run contrary to the ideals of what makes our country great, and I will do all I can to fight this anti-American executive order."
Supporter view: Heritage Foundation quote posted on X: "The current prevailing interpretation of the 14th Amendment regarding birthright citizenship is wrong. It was never meant to reward illegal aliens for breaking American law. No child born to foreign citizens should be considered a citizen of the U.S."
8. Travel bans
Trump signed an executive action that enhances vetting and screening of undocumented immigrants. The executive order also calls for the possible relaunch of travel bans that would suspend entry of certain nationals from countries deemed of particular concern. The first Trump administration implemented similar travel bans through an executive action. Those travel bans, deemed discriminatory, were rescinded by the Biden administration.
Supporter view: Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, said Jan. 10 on The Daily Signal: "I think it's very important that we start looking at the countries that are the source of illegal immigration in terms of security: a Sudan, a Syria, countries that support terrorism, like Venezuela, the Middle East, especially Iran, Russia as well. Why would we let them send people here that we have no background checks, have not adjudicated their status? So we should have a travel ban, an immediate deportation and immediate consequences for the mother country that knowingly sends these people."
9. 'Protect American people against invasion'
This executive order "rescinds open border policies" of the Biden administration, and calls for creating federal homeland security task forces to cooperate with state and local law enforcement to assist in the removal of gangs, criminals and undocumented immigrants from the U.S.
10. Death penalty
This executive order calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty for undocumented immigrants who commit capital offenses, including those convicted of killing law enforcement officers or American citizens.
(This story has been updated with new information.)