Trump to sign sweeping executive actions on immigration, start fight to end birthright citizenship

Washington
CNN
—

Incoming White House officials on Monday outlined a series of sweeping immigration actions that include declaring a national emergency at the US southern border and kicking off the process to end birthright citizenship, which is expected to start a legal battle.

The executive actions are the culmination of several campaign promises and the revival of policy ideas that failed to materialize during President-elect Donald 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 have not ruled out the possibility that others could also be apprehended.

Monday’s executive actions, which Trump officials have seen in advance but have not yet shared the actual text, include:

• Declaring a national emergency on the US southern border, which would trigger the deployment of additional Pentagon resources and the deployment of armed forces to complete the border wall, among other things. It is only focused on southern border security.

“We want the military on the southern border, but there are other elements of the United States government that will be working across the country,” said a future White House official.

• Abolition of birthright citizenship, an issue to be addressed through constitutional amendments or through the courts. The action is focused on the phrase “and subject to its jurisdiction in the 14th Amendment to clarify that the federal government will not, on a future basis, recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States.”

• To designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

“This initiative is a process that will lead to the designation of the cartels such as the aforementioned Tren de Aragua and MS 13 as FTOs and or specifically designated global terrorist,” said a future White House official, adding that the move will directly remove gang members and, according to the Alien Enemies Act, find them as “irregular armed forces of the government of Venezuela, carrying out a predatory invasion and invasion of United States states.”

• Suspension of resettlement of refugees for at least four months.

• Initiating the process of reinstating Trump’s signature border policy known as “stay in Mexico,” which requires migrants to stay in Mexico while undergoing their immigration procedures in the United States. The policy requires Mexico’s buy-in.

• A proclamation to crack down on asylum applications along America’s southern border, though the contours of that are unclear. An executive action by President Joe Biden effectively shut down asylum for illegal border crossers.

• Instruct the Attorney General to seek the death penalty for murders of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.

Trump’s executive actions on immigration were carefully and deliberately written to try to withstand expected legal challenges, according to a source familiar with the planning.

It’s a lesson learned from Trump’s first term in office, when several immigration orders, some of which were quickly written, were challenged in court. Trump’s allies argue that the legal battles hampered Trump’s immigration agenda.

When Trump’s team compiled a list of immigration orders, they tried to account for it.

“They are ready this time,” the source said.

Immigration groups have been privately weighing how they will approach litigation under the Trump administration, keenly aware that this Trump administration is more prepared and avoids knee-jerk reactions.