Trump plans series of actions on immigration, border security

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump plans to take a series of executive actions shortly after returning to office Monday consistent with the tough-on-immigration promises of his political campaign, incoming White House officials said.

Some of the actions described in a call with reporters Monday would reinstate border security policies from his first administration, while several others appear to go into new immigration policy areas that could challenge long-standing legal status quos. The text of any orders and actions were not released Monday morning.

A cornerstone directive will be once again declaring a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border, which the officials say is based on what they called the record high numbers of undocumented migrants who entered the United States during the Biden administration.

Other initiatives include the revival of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum-seekers to stay outside in the United States as their claims are processed, and ending recognition of citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants in the United States, the officials said.

Trump plans to sign 10 executive orders on his first days in office related to immigration, an official said, as well as actions directing the U.S. military to take a role in this area. Every administration since George W. Bush’s presidency has had troops at the border to assist in non-law enforcement activites, including during the Biden administration.

Incoming White House officials identified multiple initiatives as part of these orders on a call with reporters, but it wasn’t immediately clear how the directives would or would not overlap in terms of the different executive orders. The officials briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the incoming Trump administration.

“The last four years have created an unconscionable risk of public safety, public health and the national security of the United States due to the Biden administration border policies,” an incoming White House official said. “You know, as well, that 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.”

That “invasion has caused widespread chaos and suffering in our country over the last four years,” an official said.

The declaration of a national emergency at the border also directs the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to “finish the wall” on the U.S.-Mexico border and allows for the operation of unmanned aerial systems along the border, an official said.

More military to the border

Additionally, the declaration instructs the Defense secretary to deploy additional personnel, which includes both members of the armed forces and the National Guard, an official said.

Military directives to contain immigration made up a significant portion of the orders. One action seeks to clarify the military’s role in “protecting the territorial integrity of the United States,” which assigns the mission to seal the borders and institutes new planning requirements, an official said.

“The executive order directs the military to prioritize our borders and territorial integrity and strategic planning for its operations to maintain sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the U.S. by repelling forms of invasion, including unlawful mass migration, narcotics tracking, human smuggling and trafficking and other criminal activities,” an official said.

“In addition, specifically, it directs the Secretary of Defense to deploy additional personnel to the border crisis, including members of the armed forces and the National Guard,” an official said.

While the official pointed to criminal behavior as part of the justification for the national emergency, military troops are by law not permitted to engage in law enforcement activities. Previous deployments have used them in support roles.

In his first term, Trump declared in 2019 a national emergency and ordered billions of defense dollars for military construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats criticized the move and it faced legal challenges. President Joe Biden, in one of his first official acts, terminated Trump’s emergency declaration, calling it “unwarranted,” and paused funding for work on the wall.

Another action would reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, the official said. The policy requires asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border to stay outside of the United States as their claims are processed.

And another action will designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and specifically designated global terrorists, officials said, pointing to Tren de Aragua, which was found to have taken over an apartment complex in Colorado, and MS-13.

Another action seeks to end refugee resettlement for at least four months, and another targets birthright citizenship.

Although the 14th Amendment says persons born in the United States are citizens, the directive will seek to clarify “on a prospective basis” that the federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship of children born to undocumented immigrants in the United States, an official said.

Republican senators have said any changes to birthright citizenship would have to be addressed by Congress and look skeptically on the idea that any changes could occur through executive action alone.

Other actions seek to enhance vetting and screening of migrants entering the United States and require a report to the president on the suspension of entry of nationals from any country of particular concern, an official said.

Another action seeks to “protect the American people against invasion,” which involves giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection new authorities to deport migrants without legal status in the United States, an official said, in addition to creating new federal Homeland Security task forces to cooperate with state and local law enforcement.

An action will direct the attorney general to seek capital punishment for the murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, in addition to encouraging state agencies and district attorneys to bring capital state charges for these crimes, an official said.

Many of the details of the policies appear not yet final. Asked whether the transition team has any idea how many additional troops would be deployed as a result of these actions, an official said the transition team doesn’t have a specific number and that would be up to the secretary of Defense.

Asked whether designating these groups as terrorists would lead to military operations and what the rules of engagement would be, an official said the transition team hasn’t made any specific determination and that would be up to the secretaries of Sefense and State.