Trump Administration Issues Series of Immigration-Related Executive Orders

January 21, 2025

On Monday, January 20, 2025, within the first few hours of taking office, the Trump Administration issued a series of Executive Orders, many of them aimed at curbing lawful immigration. Following is a summary of some of these orders:

Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats directs the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence to submit a report within 60 days identifying countries for which “vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries” paving the way for a travel ban similar to those of the first Trump administration. This EO additionally seeks to increase vetting and screening processes related to visa issuance.

America First Trade Policy calls for the review of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), assessing the impact on American workers, farmers, and other business to make recommendations regarding the United States’ participation in the agreement.

Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship seeks to overturn the concept of “birthright citizenship” for those whose parents are not U.S. permanent residents or citizens. Given the protections of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the precedent set by United States v. Wong Kim Ark, this EO is particularly ripe for litigation, and the ACLU has already filed a lawsuit.

Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion suspends the entry of noncitizens at the southern border until the President “issue[s] a finding that the invasion at the southern border has ceased.”

Securing Our Borders directs the re-instatement of Migrant Protection Protocols, ceases the use of the CBP One application, and cancels humanitarian parole programs issued under the Biden Administration, including parole for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan nationals.

Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States makes possible the deployment of additional personnel and resources to the southern border, including the National Guard and Ready Reserve. It additionally orders the use of unmanned aerial systems (drones) and orders the construction of additional physical barriers.

Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program suspends the admission of refugees beginning January 27, 2025 until a report from the Secretary of Homeland Security (to be issued within 90 days of this order) states that resuming the entry of refugees is in the interest of the United States.

LHSCD is committed to staying on top of immigration-related news to provide the most up-to-date guidance and resources to our clients. If you have any questions about how these executive orders might affect your case, please contact your attorney directly. To schedule a new consultation with one of our attorneys, please complete our consultation request form.

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