Trump signs executive actions on immigration, launches fight to end birthright citizenship
President Donald Trump began his term by taking a series of sweeping immigration executive actions Monday that included declaring a national emergency at the US southern border, immediately ending use of a border app called CBP One that had allowed migrants to legally enter the United States, and kicking off the process to end birthright citizenship.
Trump also made a personnel move, as senior leadership at the Justice Department’s agency overseeing the nation’s immigration courts were removed from service on Monday. The Executive Office for Immigration Review oversees the US immigration court system, where immigration judges decide if immigrants can remain in the US or be deported.
The removals, which targeted career public servants who together have served in the agency for several years, raised questions about whether they were permitted under rules dictated by the Office of Personnel Management; and they illustrated the Trump administration’s push to install officials who are aligned with his policy vision.
The executive actions are the culmination of multiple campaign pledges and the resurfacing of policy ideas that didn’t come to fruition during Trump’s first term. Trump aides have signaled that they will be followed within days by a series of immigration enforcement sweeps targeting criminals, though they haven’t ruled out that others could be apprehended, too.
The shutdown of CBP One closed a key pathway for people looking to come into the US. With that now gone, and asylum restrictions in place, the border is effectively shut down to asylum seekers.
More than 936,500 people have successfully used the app to schedule appointments to present at ports of entry since January 2023, according to US Customs and Border Protection. Existing appointments have been canceled, the agency said.
Trump signed an action declaring a national emergency at the US southern border and said in his inaugural address that “all illegal entry will immediately be halted.” That declaration triggers the deployment of additional Pentagon resources and armed forces to finish the border wall, among other efforts.
Trump also designated cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
“This initiative is a process that will lead to the designation of the cartels like … Tren de Aragua and MS 13 as FTOs and/or specifically designated global terrorists,” an incoming White House official said, adding that the move will direct removal of the gang members and, under the Alien Enemies Act, find them as “irregular armed force of Venezuela’s government conducting a predatory incursion and invasion into the United States.”
Trump also kicked off the process to reinstate his signature border policy known as “Remain in Mexico,” requiring migrants to stay in Mexico while they go through their immigration proceedings in the United States.
Monday’s other executive actions included:
• Ending birthright citizenship, an issue that would need to be addressed via constitutional amendment or via the courts. The action is focused on the phrase “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof in the 14th amendment to clarify that on a prospective basis, the federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States.”
• Suspending refugee resettlement for at least four months.
• Directing the attorney general to seek capital punishment for the murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
