Immigration Policy Of The Second Donald Trump Administration

On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States for a second term. That evening, he signed several executive orders related to immigration, including blocking asylum seekers from entering the U.S., declaring a national emergency at the Mexico–U.S. border, and citing a public health risk posed by migrants through a lack of "comprehensive health information". Since then, he has also signed an act into law and has proposed other changes to the immigration system.

Trump, who campaigned on stricter immigration laws, oversaw a sharp decrease in border crossings when he took office.

Policies and presidential actions

Restricting entry and increasing expedited removal as a response to an "invasion"

President Trump issued Proclamation 10888, titled "Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion", which mandates various actions. The proclamation claims that the steps and actions mandated are part of the executive branch's compliance with their duties under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, which guarantees that the federal government will protect the states against invasion. President Trump considers the flow of immigrants at the southern border to be an invasion and so mandates the following steps: (1) Suspend the physical entry of aliens who are at the southern border and engaged in the invasion until the invasion has ended, (2) for aliens already within the United States, they cannot invoke laws, such as asylum laws, that would allow them to continue inside the United States, and (3) the Department of Homeland Security can take any appropriate steps to remove any aliens involved in the invasion, including using expedited removal–which is a process whereby undocumented immigrants can be removed from the country without a full and formal court proceeding. This would expand the use of expedited removal as it would now apply both to undocumented immigrants within the U.S. and to those arriving at a U.S. border without authorization. On July 2, 2025, US district court judge Randolph D. Moss ruled the proclamation illegal, stating he failed to find any statute or Constitutional provision that gave the president the authority to “adopt an alternative immigration system, which supplants the statutes that Congress has enacted and the regulations that the responsible agencies have promulgated.” Moss suspended his ruling for 14 days to allow for an anticipated appeal.

Changing the process of applying for admission into the United States

President Trump's Executive Order 14165, titled "Securing Our Borders", makes three big changes to the process of applying for admission into the United States.

Reinstating Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)

First, Trump reinstated the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which was a policy put in place during his first term in office. This program states that all asylum-seekers or refugees who arrive at the southern border seeking entry into the United States must remain in or return to Mexico while they await their admission or court removal proceedings, if already entered illegally. In other words, asylum-seekers cannot come into or stay in the United States during this waiting period.

Terminating the CBP One application

Secondly, this executive order also terminated the "CBP One" mobile application. This app was a program developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to allow migrants to secure immigration appointments, such as appointments for inspection and for asylum applications. Within an hour of Trump's inauguration, the app was discontinued and migrants who accessed CBP One found that their appointments were canceled. All appointments that were already scheduled at the time the executive order was signed were cancelled. The executive order claims that this will stop migrants, who are otherwise inadmissible, from using this app to facilitate their entry into the United States.

Ending categorical parole programs

Lastly, the executive order also put an end to categorical parole programs. These programs allowed migrants from certain countries to stay in the U.S. for a certain period, due to various reasons. Executive Order 14165 terminates these programs, and Executive Order 14159, titled "Protecting the American People Against Invasion", goes further and orders that all parole applications be processed on a case-by-case basis. Parole individuals are only to be admitted, or allowed to remain in the U.S., if they show an urgent humanitarian need or if they can contribute significantly to the United States. This change creates uncertainty as to whether individuals who would have previously been granted temporary status under one of the categorical parole programs, or who are currently in the United States under one of those programs, will now be able to come into or stay in the United States.

Expanding border control and security

President Trump enacted Proclamation 10886, which declares a national emergency at the southern border of the United States under the National Emergencies Act. This declaration grants him certain powers to be able to deal with the emergency, such as being able to allocate more of the military budget to this. For instance, invoking these emergency powers gives him authority to call for deploying more troops and military equipment to the southern border, creating additional detention facilities, and fortifying the physical barriers, such as the wall–all of which Trump calls for in this proclamation.

Section 5 of the proclamation revokes a proclamation signed by former President Biden in 2021, which halted funding for border wall construction. Similarly, Trump's Executive Order 14165 also calls for additional construction of physical barriers and for deploying more troops to the southern border.

Additionally, Proclamation 10886 gives more authority and discretion to the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to carry out what is being asked of them. For example, they have the discretion to appoint as many troops as they deem necessary. Going along with their expanded power, Section 3 of the proclamation also urges the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission to waive their regulations that might hinder the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to detect, track, and potentially mitigate drones or other unmanned aircraft along the southern border that may be deemed a threat. In the proclamation, President Trump claims that, as Commander in Chief, these actions are a necessary part of his duty to protect Americans.

Suspension of refugee admissions under the Refugee Admissions Program

President Trump signed Executive Order 14163, titled "Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program." This order proclaims that the entry of new refugees will be detrimental to the United States and, because of that, it suspends the entry of any new refugees under the current Refugee Admissions Program for a period of 90 days. In other words, no current refugee applications under the program can be accepted or denied until the program is resumed. In the meantime, only a few exceptions will be made to admit refugees on a case-by-case basis who are deemed not to pose a threat and to be in the interest of the U.S. to admit them. After the 90 days, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security will report whether resuming the program will be beneficial to the United States. If so, the President can decide to resume the program. If not, they will continue to report every 90 days until the President decides that it is in the best interest of the U.S. to resume the Refugee Admissions Program. President Trump claims this is necessary to protect and preserve U.S. resources for citizens and to ensure that the refugees admitted have a chance to assimilate. Where the President is deriving the authority to do this is from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and parts of th
U.S. Code
which grant the President the ability to suspend entry of immigrants he deems would be detrimental to the United States.

Interior immigration enforcement: expanding detention and deportation

President Trump's Executive Order 14165, titled "Securing Our Borders", calls for all immigrants who are undocumented—and thus in violation of federal immigration law—to be subject to criminal charges and to be deported from the United States. Going along with this, the executive order ends the current catch-and-release policies and replaces them with catch-and-detain practices. Under catch-and-release, immigrants within the U.S. who have been arrested on suspicion of being undocumented, or for violating immigration laws, but that were not a public safety threat were released while awaiting their court or removal proceedings. Under catch-and-detain, however, these immigrants have to be detained while awaiting their removal proceedings. The executive order also calls for pursuing criminal charges against people who aided the stay of an undocumented immigrant within the United States.

Additionally, President Trump orders federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to prioritize and divert more resources to deporting and detaining as many immigrants as can legally be removed and to building facilities that can hold them while detained. To ensure there is enough personnel to accomplish this goal, Trump signed Executive Order 14159, titled "Protecting the American People Against Invasion." This executive order authorizes state and local officials to act as immigration officers by giving them authority to apprehend immigrants subject to removal, such as those without proper immigration documents. Additionally, the executive order allows the federal government to withhold federal funds from and pursue legal actions against any jurisdiction that interferes or does not comply with the federal government in carrying out these orders.

Further, Executive Order 14159 calls for the expanding the use of expedited removal. Expedited removal is the process by which individuals can be deported without going through the immigration court system, which really speeds up the deportation process but leaves those subject to removal without a full chance to plead their case to stay in the United States. Previously, only those who were found within 100 miles of the border and within 14 days of having entered the country illegally were subject to expedited removal. Now, however, Trump orders the expanded use of this practice and any immigrant who has been in the country for less than two years and cannot prove his lawful entry can be subject to it.

Moreover, Executive Order 14159 also orders federal agencies to stop providing any public benefits to any undocumented immigrants within the United States. Agencies must take steps to investigate who they are giving benefits to that may not be eligible to receive them under the Immigration and Nationality Act, or other laws, and to stop those benefits from going to them.

Designating cartels and other foreign organizations as terrorists

President Trump issued Executive Order 14157, titled "Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists". As the name suggests, this executive order designates certain international cartels and organizations as terrorist organizations. Specifically, the executive order lists the Tren de Aragua cartel, the La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) cartel, and the Mexican cartels. Trump claims these organizations pose an economic and national security threat and thereby declares a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Declaring a national emergency under this act grants the President certain powers and authority to be able to deal with this threat, such as ordering all cartel members to be removed from the United States. Designating them as foreign terrorist organizations and declaring a national emergency allows Trump to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which is a wartime law. This law gives the President wartime authority to deport those deemed enemies, and allows deportations done under it to proceed without going through the immigration court system. In other words, this makes those labeled as terrorists subject to expedited removal and will speed up the process by which these deportations can take place. Nonetheless, some legal experts claim it might be difficult for Trump to invoke this law as it is meant only for when the U.S. is at war or when another nation has threatened to invade, and neither of those are occurring. On the other hand, other experts believe the law is broad enough to allow Trump to invoke it, despite the U.S. not being at war.

Similar to this, President Trump issued Executive Order 14161, titled "Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats". This order calls for an increased and very strict screening process during the visa-granting process to ensure that those given visas and allowed to enter the United States do not wish to harm citizens. Further, it orders the government to continue screening and ensuring that immigrants already within the U.S. do not aid what have been deemed as foreign terrorist groups and that they do not bear hostility towards the country. If they are deemed a threat, the executive order calls for them to be immediately removed from the country, if already within the U.S., or excluded, if they are seeking admission. If the screening procedures routinely label people from certain countries as threats, the government can suspend entry of citizens from that country under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Laken Riley Act

On January 29, 2025, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, the first legislation of Trump's second term. The act requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain undocumented immigrants who are charged with certain kinds of crimes, such as burglary, theft, shoplifting, larceny, assault of a law enforcement officer, or other violent offenses.

The act also enables states to sue the federal government and the Secretary of Homeland Security if its immigration decisions or its alleged failure to enforce immigration laws causes the state or its residents physical or financial harm. For example, states can sue the federal government if the federal government releases, or fails to detain, certain undocumented immigrants that then cause harm to the state and its people.

Changes to birthright citizenship

President Trump issued Executive Order 14160, titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship". This executive order reviews the right to birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment and claims the Fourteenth Amendment does not grant citizenship to everyone born in the United States–it excludes those who might be physically born in the U.S. but not subject to its jurisdiction. Given this, Trump claims birthright citizenship should not extend to those who were born in the U.S. to a mother who was in the country illegally, or legally but temporarily, and when the other parent (the father) is not a citizen or permanent resident. In short, it adds to the principle of birthright citizenship the requirement that one parent must be a citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of birth—not just that the person has to be born on U.S. soil. The executive order directs government agencies to stop issuing citizenship documents to individuals who do not fall under that requirement, starting with people born after thirty days of this executive order being issued. The executive order has been challenged with at least nine lawsuits on constitutional grounds (related to the 14th Amendment), and , two federal judges have issued preliminary injunctions blocking its implementation and enforcement nationwide.

Trump gold card

President Trump proposed launching a "Trump Gold Card," which is a permanent residency permit that would create a pathway to citizenship for people who can pay $5 million for the card. The Gold Card would replace the EB-5 investor visa program, which is the United States' current path for investors to gain residency. A key difference between the Gold Card and the EB-5 program is that gold card holders would not liable for US federal income tax on income earned outside the US. Additionally, the EB-5 program requires those seeking a visa under it to invest a minimum of $800,000 and to create and maintain a minimum of 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers. The Gold Card would change this as it increases the amount of money needed and has not yet specified creating jobs as a requirement. The Gold Card's formal proposals, details, and requirements remain unclear, with varying sources indicating clarification would be required to determine whether: the card itself would cost $5 million, what—if any—the requirements would be for number of jobs-created, or if the dollar amount represents a required economic investment domestically.

White South African refugees

On May 12, 2025, the Trump administration brought the first group of white South Africans to the United States through its refugee program.

On June 2, 2025, U.S. officials reported that a second group of 9 white South Africans arrived a few days prior.

Deportations

Deportation of immigrants

During Trump's campaign trail, he repeatedly promised to commence mass-deportation operations in response to the border crisis and the Biden's administration's policies on immigration. Among restoring his previous policies in his first term, his key policy was among economy and immigration.

Upon swearing in, Trump appointed Tom Homan to become the oncoming " border czar" and direct the Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). With the cooperation of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE began directing raids across the U.S., including major cities where large immigrant communities reside. The Trump administration eliminated the "sensitive locations" policy, allowing ICE to conduct arrests in places such as schools or churches.

Dozens of deportees captured by ICE were aboard on military aircraft, with some being reported to have been held on shackles whilst on flight. Many of the immigrants were deported without due process. The influx of mass deportations resulted in families and communities being disrupted, and contributed to a climate of fear and uncertainty among immigrant communities.

On March 14, 2025, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive allowing law enforcement officials to enter the homes of migrants without warrants.. On March 22, Trump asked Bondi to retaliate against attorneys opposing the deportations, for what he called "frivolous, unreasonable and vexatious litigation".

The Trump administration has claimed that around 140,000 people had been deported as of April 2025, though some estimates put the number at roughly half that amount. By June 10, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security told ''Time'' it had deported more than 207,000 migrants.

Detention centers for deportees

Use of Guantanamo Bay

On January 29, 2025, Trump ordered the preparation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to house tens of thousands of migrants.

Within a month, hundreds of migrants had been transferred to Guantanamo. Most of them were swiftly transferred elsewhere, including 177 Venezuelans who arrived in Venezuela on February 20 after having been held at Guantanamo.

On March 13, a spokesperson for the US Southern Command confirmed that no migrants were currently being held at Guantánamo. By early April several dozen migrants "on final orders supposedly to head to their final destination" were being temporarily held at Guantanamo, including Nicaraguans who had been added to a deportation flight originating in Louisiana. The estimates were by the end of March that less than 400 detainees had been sent to the base.

Use of El Salvador

The Trump administration affirmed a deal with Nayib Bukele's government to permit deportees to be held in El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), notorious for harsh conditions, at a cost of $6 million per year. In March 2025, the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and deported around 250 people, alleged by the Trump administration to be members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, to El Salvador, where they were imprisoned in CECOT. At the time of the deportations, the Trump administration did not identify the accused and did not reveal evidence of the accused being Venezuelan gang members or having committed crimes in the United States.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward sued the Trump administration, challenging the legality of using the Alien Enemies Act when the country is not in desperate conditions, including at time of war. The administration used two planes to deport the accused, despite Chief Judge James Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issuing a temporary restraining order against deporting foreigners using the act. Boasberg also verbally ordered planes containing such foreigners to return to the United States. Trump's " border czar" Tom Homan said that the Trump administration completed the deportations despite the court order, because Boasberg's order was made when the planes were above international waters after departing the United States; Homan also declared regarding deportations: "Another flight every day. ..We are not stopping. I don't care what the judges think." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Boasberg's order "had no lawful basis ..A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier". Leavitt also expressed doubts about "whether a verbal order carries the same weight as a written order", while the Trump administration argued in court that "an oral directive is not enforceable as an injunction".

The administration has admitted that "many" of those who had been deported did not have criminal records in the US. ''Bloomberg'' estimated that about 90% of the deported migrants had no criminal record.

The administration acknowledged that one of the deportees, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, had been deported due to an "administrative error". The Supreme Court ruled that his deportation was illegal and ordered to "facilitate" his return. On April 14, 2025, the administration changed its position, stating that the deportation of Abrego Garcia was not a mistake. Both Trump and El Salvador's President Bukele said they could not unilaterally bring him back. Trump accused opponents of wanting to release criminals. Trump also mentioned his desire to widen the deportations to El Salvador for "criminal" US citizens, asking Bukele to build five more prisons for Americans.

Use of Costa Rica

In February 2025, the Costa Rican government agreed to receive 200 migrants renditioned from the United States and to detain them at the Temporary Migrant Care Center, known by its Spanish acronym CATEM, pending their repatriation. Costa Rican authorities have made attempts to reestablish custody over migrants who have escaped from CATEM, though others were permitted to leave the facility after formally seeking asylum in Costa Rica.

Activist deportations

In response of these policies by the Trump administration, many activists and protestors began protesting on streets in major cities across the U.S. against mass-deportations and immigration policy, including Los Angeles and New York City, which resides large immigrant communities. In spite of this, the Trump administration increasingly targeted legal immigrants, tourists, and students with green cards who expressed criticism of his policies or engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy. The government has deported or attempted to deport a number of pro-Palestinian activists whom it accuses of supporting terrorists. These include Mahmoud Khalil, Rasha Alawieh, Badar Khan Suri, and Momodou Taal.

Proposals to deport U.S. citizens

Trump has stated "his administration is trying to find 'legal' ways to ship U.S. citizens" to CECOT. During President Bukele's White House visit where the two discussed Abrego Garcia, Trump told Bukele "Home-growns are next. The home-growns. You gotta build about five more places. It's not big enough."

The issue was first raised when U.S. and El Salvador formed an agreement to house people of any nationality in CECOT. Bukele extended the offer to convicted criminals serving their sentence in the United States who are U.S. citizens or legal residents. He confirmed the statement on X, saying he offered the U.S. "the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system". The U.S. government cannot deport American citizens, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that "Obviously we'll have to study it on our end. There are obviously legalities involved. We have a Constitution, we have all sorts of things", while calling it "a very generous offer", noting "No one's ever made an offer like that" and that it would cost a fraction of imprisoning criminals in the U.S. He said that "obviously the administration will have to make a decision."

Trump said he was looking into whether he could move forward with the offer, telling reporters "I'm just saying if we had a legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat" and "I don't know if we do or not, we're looking at that right now." When asked about the cost of incarcerating American prisoners in other countries, Trump said it would be a "small fee compared to what we pay to private prisons", that several countries had already agreed to host American prisoners, and that "It's no different than a prison system except it would be less expensive and it would be a great deterrent." Elon Musk called the proposal a "Great idea!!" on X. Rubio in his remarks specified that this would apply to dangerous criminals; ''Politico'' noted that meanwhile, Bukele said on X that El Salvador would gladly take U.S. ex-senator Bob Menendez, who was serving an 11-year prison sentence for bribery but who was not a violent criminal.

Trump later suggested on Truth Social that the "sick terrorist thugs" responsible for the recent vandalism of Tesla property could be sent to Salvadoran prisons, "which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions". Ahead of Bukele's White House visit, Trump confirmed that they would discuss sending Americans to El Salvador's prisons, giving his stance as "I love it" and that he would be honored, but that he'd have to see what the law says, "but I can't imagine the law would say anything different... If they can house these horrible criminals for a lot less money than it costs us, I'm all for it."

''Politico'' cited Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy in the Vera Institute of Justice, as saying there's no precedent to send U.S. citizens outside the country to serve sentences in other countries; "It is so beyond the pale of anything contemplated by the Constitution or due process or the criminal courts." Lauren-Brooke Eisen, the senior director of the justice program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told ''Politico'' in a statement that the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishments such as excessive sentences or inhumane prison conditions, and that deporting Americans would be illegal under the First Step Act, which requires that the federal government send those convicted of federal crimes to "a facility as close as practicable to the prisoner's primary residence, and to the extent practicable, in a facility within 500 driving miles of that residence".

The BBC noted that while U.S. citizens enjoy legal protection from deportation, it is possible for naturalized citizens to be denaturalized. This tends to happen when the citizenship was fraudulently obtained, but citizens suspected of ties to criminal gangs or terrorist organizations, such as Tren de Aragua or MS-13, could, in theory, be stripped of citizenship. They would then be at risk of deportation, although such a move would need a formal court process. Citizens born in the U.S. cannot be denaturalized.

Travel ban

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14161 titled ''"Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats".'' The order seeks to protect Americans "from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten .S.national security, espouse hateful ideologies, or otherwise exploit immigration laws for malevolent purposes." To achieve this goal, the order calls for enhanced vetting and screening measures for all foreign nationals seeking to enter or already present in the United States since January 20, 2021. It directs federal agencies a 60-day period to review, recommend, and implement necessary updates to existing procedures to ensure national security and public safety.

In doing so, the order also seeks to identify deficiencies in the information needed to assess whether nationals of particular countries pose a security threat, using a standardized risk assessment baseline. If a foreign government fails to provide adequate information, or if other risk factors are present, the administration may impose entry restrictions and take steps to remove individuals already in the country. The order may reinstate and expand upon earlier directives issued during Trump's first term, commonly referred to as the "travel ban".

On March 14, 2025, ''The New York Times'' reported that the Trump administration released a draft list of 43 countries that could be affected under EO 14161 which would ban citizens of eleven countries from entering the U.S., sharply restrict citizens of ten other countries, and give twenty-two countries sixty days to address concerns from the Department of State.

On June 4, 2025, Trump signed a proclamation restricting citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from entering the U.S. The order also partially bans travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela; citizens from partially banned countries may only seek temporary work visas. It excludes visa holders, permanent residents, dual citizens, and athletes participating in a "major sporting event", including the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.

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International impact

Latin America

The immigration policies of the Trump administration have resulted in a documented increase in "reverse migratory flow", whereby immigrants (predominantly Venezuelans) originally destined for the United States are returning through Panama. There has been an 83% decrease in migration toward the United States through Colombia while thousands migrate south, often using dangerous alternative paths through remote areas. Combined with funding cuts to USAID, this has caused a nutrition crisis among migrants in the region. In January 2025, Leslie Voltaire, the president of Haiti warned that Trump's policies like blocking and deporting migrants can have catastrophic consequences for the country which "cannot handle the influx". The travel ban which Trump issued in June, may have negative impacts on several countries including Haiti which is already in deep crisis.

As of May 2025, monthly figures for apprehensions on the US-Mexico border showed a precipitous year-on-year decrease in excess of 90% to 8,300, 7,200 and 8,400 for February, March and April 2025 respectively compared with the corresponding months in 2024. Historically, no full year has averaged below 9,000 apprehensions per month since the late 1960s.

Brain drain

The deportations of lawful permanent residents and visa holders, along with research funding cuts, have made the United States less attractive for students, white-collar workers and researchers. A March 2025 poll showed that 75% of US scientists were considering leaving. Ursula von der Leyen announced in May 2025 a two-year €500 million investment (approximately $556 million) to support US scientists moving to Europe.

See also

* Immigration policy of the first Donald Trump administration
* Immigration policy of the United States
* Habeas corpus
* Detention of Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez
* June 2025 Los Angeles protests

Notes

References

{{Second presidency of Donald Trump

Anti-immigration politics in the United States
Second Trump administration controversies
Deportation from the United States