Trump Executive Orders on Immigration and Border Security

Published: January 22, 2025

Federal Market AnalysisDEFENSEFirst 100 DaysDHSInformation TechnologyPolicy and LegislationPresident Trump

Executive actions in the early hours of the administration set in motion multiple efforts to address high-priority national concerns.

President Donald Trump promised immediate action on immigration and border security, and a flurry of Executive Orders (EOs) in the midst of his inauguration centered on these issues.

Below is a synopsis of these interrelated EOs, which include areas of relevance or interest to federal contractors.

Realignment of the U.S. Refugee Admissions ProgramThis order suspends the admission of refugees through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), effective on January 27, 2025 until a time when it is determined to be in U.S. interest to resume the program.

Driving the suspension is the priority of U.S. public safety and national security and the concern for the ability to absorb large numbers of refugees in ways that do not compromise the availability of resources for American citizens, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees. The directive does give the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security the discretion to jointly determine to admit refugees on a case-by-case basis, provided it is in the national interest and does not pose a security threat.

Other elements include:

  • Review – The order also directs the Homeland Security Secretary and the Attorney General to examine existing law to determine how State and local jurisdictions may have greater involvement in the placement or resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions. 
  • Resumption – Within 90 days, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State are to report on whether resumption of USRAP would be in U.S. interests and report every 90 days thereafter until the President determines that resumption of USRAP is in U. S. interests.
  • Revocations – The order revokes the Biden Executive Order 14013, Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration from February 4, 2021, which had revoked earlier Trump Administration EO’s to increase refugee vetting under USRAP and State and local involvement in resettlement.

Protecting The American People Against InvasionThis EO directs federal agencies to “faithfully execute the [U.S.] immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people. Of special concern are those who have unlawfully entered the country and present significant threats to national security and public safety by committing criminal actions or engaging in hostile activities, such as espionage and terror-related activities.

Policy provisions include:

  • Directs the DHS Secretary of Homeland Security to empower leaders of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) to set priorities that protect public safety and national security and enforce removal orders.
  • Directs that the primary mission of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division is the enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and other laws related to the illegal entry and unlawful presence of aliens.
  • Directs the Attorney General to prioritize the prosecution of criminal offenses related to the unauthorized entry/presence of aliens.

Operational and other provisions include:

  • Homeland Security Task Forces – In addition to revoking several Biden immigration-related EOs from 2021, this order directs the Attorney General and the Homeland Security Secretary to jointly establish Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTFs) in all States nationwide, and to provide an operational command center to coordinate and support the activities of the HSTFs. The objective of each HSTF is to end the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations; end cross-border human smuggling and trafficking, especially involving children; and ensure the use of all available law enforcement tools to faithfully execute U.S. immigration laws.
  • Alien Identification and Removal – Directs DHS, State, and the Attorney General (AG) to publicize, ensure compliance and prioritize enforcement of the legal obligations of all previously unregistered aliens to comply with applicable U.S. law. Directs DHS to ensure the efficient and expedited removal of relevant aliens.
  • Detention Facilities – Directs DHS to allocate available resources or establish contracts to construct, operate, control, or use facilities to detain removable aliens and to ensure the detention of aliens apprehended for violations of immigration law.
  • Sanctuary Jurisdictions – Directs the AG and DHS Secretary to ensure that so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions interfering with federal law enforcement operations do not receive federal funds, as well as evaluate and pursue criminal or civil actions against these jurisdictions.
  • Information Sharing – Directs DHS to ensure that State and local governments are provided the information necessary to fulfill law enforcement, citizenship, or immigration status verification requirements.
  • Funding/Contract Reviews – Launches an immediate review (and potentially audits) of all contracts, grants, or other funding agreements to non-governmental organizations “supporting or providing services to removable or illegal aliens, to ensure that such agreements conform to applicable law and are free of waste, fraud, and abuse, and that they do not promote or facilitate violations of our immigration laws.”
  • Denial of Public Benefits – Directs OMB to ensure that all agencies identify and stop the provision of any public benefits to any alien not authorized to receive them under the INA.
  • Hiring More Agents and Officers – Directs CBP and ICE to significantly increase the number of agents and officers available to perform immigration duties.
  • Crime Victim Support – Reestablishes ICE’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE) to provide services to victims of crimes committed by removable aliens.

Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border – The President declared a national emergency at the U.S. southern border to address the rate of illegal entry of aliens, including members of cartels and criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit drugs.

Key provisions include:

  • Defense Support – As such, the Department of Defense (DOD) is authorized and directed to assist DHS by providing military personnel, including Reserve and National Guard personnel, and by providing operational support to civilian law enforcement, including border wall construction, the provision of detention space, transportation (including aircraft), and other logistics services.
  • Countering Unmanned Aerial Systems – The order also directs the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Communications Commission to consider waiving all applicable regulations that restrict DHS from countering unmanned aerial systems within five miles of the southern border.

Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting U.S. Territorial Integrity – Aligned with the EO declaring an emergency at the U.S southern border, this EO directs the DOD to prioritize the protection of U.S. sovereignty and territorial integrity along our national borders. The EO directs the Secretary of Defense to revise the Unified Command Plan that assigns to the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) the mission to seal the borders and maintain U.S. sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security “by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities.”

Securing Our BordersThis EO sets U.S. policy to take all appropriate action to secure U.S. borders through deterring and preventing unlawful entry; detaining and removing unlawful aliens; pursuing criminal charges against illegal aliens; and obtaining complete operational control of U.S. borders.

Noteworthy provisions include:

  • Barriers – The order directs the DOD and DHS to deploy and construct temporary and permanent physical barriers and to deploy sufficient personnel to ensure complete operational control of the southern border.
  • Cessations – The order directs DHS to terminate the practice known as “catch-and-release,” cease using the CBP One application “as a method of paroling or facilitating the entry of otherwise inadmissible aliens,” terminate all categorical parole programs contrary to updated U.S. immigration policy, including the “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans” program.
  • Initiations – The order resumes Migrant Protection Protocols along the southern border; requires fulfillment of requirements of the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005 for all detained aliens; and directs DHS to use any available technologies and procedures to determine the validity of any claimed familial relationship between aliens.

Protecting the U.S. From Foreign Terrorists – The purpose of this EO is to protect the U.S. from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes. Central to this objective is to ensure those entering the U.S. are effectively vetted as safe.

Key provisions include:

  • Enhanced Vetting and Screening – The order directs the Secretary of State, DHS Secretary, the AG and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to identify available resources and requisite information to ensure that all aliens seeking admission to, or who are already in the U.S., are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. In scope are the processes for U.S. visa adjudication and identity verification.
  • Potential Suspension – Within 60 days of the date of this order, the above officials are to report to the White House 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” and how many nationals from those countries have entered the U.S. since January 20, 2021.

Closing Thoughts

National security is the consistent theme among these directives, and the forthcoming efforts and initiatives they will drive. A supporting theme is the collaboration and capabilities it will take for these efforts to be successful in achieving their objectives. From potential infrastructure and support services to information technology and other technical capabilities, productive industry partnerships and effective solutions will be integral to their success.