The president is making good on his campaign promise with attempts to beef up security at the border and limit immigration.
President Donald Trump rolled out a blueprint to beef up security at the southern border in a series of executive orders that began taking effect soon after his inauguration Jan. 20, making good on his defining political promise to crack down on immigration and marking another wild swing in White House policy on the divisive issue.
Actual execution of such a far-reaching immigration agenda is certain to face legal and logistical challenges. But Trump has made cracking down on immigration a top priority, just as he did during his first term in the White House from 2017 to 2021. On his first days in office, he signed a slew of executive actions that included cutting off access to an app that facilitated the entry of hundreds of thousands of migrants; suspending the refugee system; and promoting greater cooperation between ICE and local and state governments.
“I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places in which they came,” Trump said in his inauguration speech to thunderous applause.
Here’s what you need to know
- Active duty troops beginning to arrive in Texas to support border security
- Policies limiting migrant arrests at schools and churches thrown out
- Justice Department orders investigation of local compliance with Trump immigration crackdown
- Travel canceled for refugees already cleared to resettle in the U.S.
- Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship
- The CBP One app disappears
- Mexico agrees to take back migrants
- Cartels designated foreign terrorist organizations
- Migrants fear promised mass deportations
Active duty troops beginning to arrive in Texas to support border security
WASHINGTON — Active duty military troops will begin arriving in El Paso and San Diego on the evening of Jan. 23 in what defense officials said is the first batch of the new forces being deployed to secure the southern border.
The Pentagon announced on Jan. 22 that about 1,500 troops were being sent to the border this week, as the department scrambles to put in motion President Donald Trump’s executive order demanding an immediate crackdown on immigration.
U.S. officials said they expect additional troops to be ordered to deploy in the next few days as defense and homeland security leaders iron out requests for more support.
There were already about 2,500 Guard and Reserve forces deployed to the border, and the new 1,500 would add to that total. But officials noted that given the length of the nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico, it will take additional forces to help put large rolls of concertina wire barriers in place and provide needed transportation, intelligence and other support to the Border Patrol.
Troops have done similar duties in support of Border Patrol agents in the past, when both Trump and former President Joe Biden sent active duty troops to the border.
Troops are prohibited by law from doing law enforcement duties under the Posse Comitatus Act, but that may change. Trump has directed through executive order that the incoming secretary of defense and incoming homeland security chief report back within 90 days if they think an 1807 law called the Insurrection Act should be invoked. That would allow those troops to be used in civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil.
— Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
Policies limiting migrant arrests at schools and churches thrown out
Officers enforcing immigration laws will now be able to arrest migrants at sensitive locations like schools and churches after the Trump administration threw out policies limiting where those arrests could happen as the new president seeks to make good on campaign promises to carry out mass deportations.
The move announced Jan. 21 reverses guidance that for over a decade has restricted two key federal immigration agencies — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — from carrying out immigration enforcement in sensitive locations.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Jan. 21.
The announcement was jarring for advocates who have argued that raising the prospect of deportation at churches, schools or hospitals can prevent migrants from getting medical attention or allowing their children to attend school.
“This action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including U.S. citizen children, deterring them from receiving medical attention, seeking out disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out everyday activities,” Olivia Golden, interim executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy, said in a statement.
Over the years dozens of migrants have sought sanctuary in churches for immigration-related reasons, sometimes staying for weeks at a time to evade ICE capture.
— Rebecca Santana, Associated Press
Justice Department orders investigation of local compliance with Trump immigration crackdown
The Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, saying they could face criminal charges, in an apparent warning to the dozens of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across America.
The memo, from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, signals a sharp turnabout in priorities from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, with the Justice Department’s civil division told to identify state and local laws and policies that “threaten to impede” the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and potentially challenge them in court.
It also tells prosecutors in no uncertain terms that they will be on the front lines of an administration-wide effort to crack down on illegal immigration and border crime and that they are expected to carry out the policy vision of President Donald Trump’s Republican White House when it comes to violent crimes, the threat of international gangs and drug trafficking.
“Indeed, it is the responsibility of the Justice Department to defend the Constitution, and accordingly, to lawfully execute the policies that the American people elected President Trump to implement,” wrote Bove.
“Sanctuary” has no legal definition, but the term encompasses a range of protection for immigrants, particularly those living in the U.S. illegally. Most often, the laws put legal limits on how law enforcement in those jurisdictions can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Courts have repeatedly upheld most sanctuary laws, and legal experts said that while prosecutions are possible, they doubted the charges would have any traction in court.
“What would you charge these people with?” asked Robert J. McWhirter, a constitutional scholar and longtime Arizona-based immigration lawyer. “Nothing obligates local law enforcement to cooperate with federal law enforcement on any issue. Not even bank robbery.”
— Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker, Associated Press
Travel canceled for refugees already cleared to resettle in the U.S.
Refugees who had been approved to travel to the United States before a Jan. 27 deadline suspending America’s refugee resettlement program have had their travel plans canceled by the Trump administration.
Thousands of refugees who fled war and persecution and had gone through a sometimes yearslong process to start new lives in America were left stranded at various locations worldwide. That includes more than 1,600 Afghans who assisted America’s war effort, as well as relatives of active-duty U.S. military personnel.
In an email dated Jan. 21 and reviewed by The Associated Press, the U.S. agency overseeing refugee processing and arrivals told staff and stakeholders that “refugee arrivals to the United States have been suspended until further notice.”
There are a little more than 10,000 refugees from around the world who had already gone through the lengthy refugee admission process and had travel scheduled over the next few weeks, according to a document obtained by the AP. It was not immediately clear how many of those had been set to arrive by the upcoming deadline.
Among those are more than 1,600 Afghans cleared to come to the U.S. as part of the program that the Biden administration set up after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
There is a separate path — the special immigrant visa program— specifically for Afghans who worked directly with the U.S. government. That program, set up by Congress, did not appear to be affected at this time, according to #AfghanEvac, a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts.
Agencies that help refugees settle and adjust to life in America have argued that this is the type of legal immigration that Trump and his supporters say they like and have pointed to the stringent background checks and sometimes yearslong wait that refugees endure before setting foot in America.
— Farnoush Amiri and Rebecca Santana, Associated Press
Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship
SEATTLE — A federal judge on Jan. 23 temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional” during the first hearing in a multi-state effort challenging the order.
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour repeatedly interrupted a Justice Department lawyer to ask how he could consider the order constitutional. When the attorney, Brett Shumate, said he’d like a chance to explain it in a full briefing, Coughenour told him the hearing was his chance.
The temporary restraining order sought by Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington was the first to get a hearing before a judge and applies nationally.
The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are U.S. citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won’t become U.S. citizens.
Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, grilled the DOJ attorneys, saying the order “boggles the mind.”
“This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” Coughenour told Shumate. The judge said he’s been on the bench for more than four decades, and he couldn’t remember seeing another case where the action challenged so clearly violated the constitution.
Shumate said he respectfully disagreed and asked the judge for an opportunity to have a full briefing on the merits of the case, rather than have a 14-day restraining order issued blocking its implementation.
The Department of Justice later said in a statement that it will “vigorously defend” the president’s executive order, which it said “correctly interprets the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
“We look forward to presenting a full merits argument to the Court and to the American people, who are desperate to see our Nation’s laws enforced,” the department said.
— Gene Johnson and Mike Catalini, Associated Press
The CBP One app disappears
Migrants who had appointments to enter the U.S. using the CBP One app saw them canceled minutes after President Donald Trump was sworn in Jan. 20, and Mexico agreed to allow people seeking U.S. asylum to remain south of the American border while awaiting their court cases.
The online lottery system gave appointments to 1,450 people a day at eight border crossings to enter on “parole,” which Joe Biden used more than any president.
It was a critical piece of the Biden administration’s border strategy to create new immigration pathways while cracking down on people who enter illegally.
Supporters say it brought order to a chaotic border. Critics say it was magnet for more people to come.
Migrants who had scored coveted appointments weeks ago found them canceled shortly after Trump was sworn in for a second term.
That includes Melanie Mendoza, 21, and her boyfriend. She said they left Venezuela over a year ago, spending more than $4,000 and traveling for a month, including walking for three days.
“We don’t know what we are going to do,” she said in Tijuana, Mexico, just on the other side of the border from San Diego.
— Rebecca Santana, Gisela Salomon and Elliot Spagat, Associated Press
Mexico agrees to take back migrants
The Trump administration is reinstating its “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced 70,000 asylum-seekers in his first term to wait there for hearings in U.S. immigration court.
Mexico, a country integral to any American effort to limit illegal immigration, indicated Jan. 20 that it is prepared to receive asylum-seekers while emphasizing that there should be an online application allowing them to schedule appointments at the U.S. border.
Immigration advocates say the policy put migrants at extreme risk.
“This is déjà vu of the darkest kind,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge. She said policies like “Remain in Mexico” have exacerbated conditions at the border while doing little to address reasons migrants leave home in the first place.
— Rebecca Santana, Gisela Salomon and Elliot Spagat, Associated Press
Cartels designated foreign terrorist organizations
A Trump order paves the way for criminal organizations such as Tren de Aragua or MS-13 to be named “foreign terrorist organizations.” MS-13 is a transnational gang that originated in Los Angeles and gained a grip on much of Central America. Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan street gang that has become a menace on American soil.
“The Cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States,” the order reads.
Trump is also raising the possibility of invoking a wartime power act for the first time since World War II to deport gang members who are deemed members of a foreign terrorist organization.
— Rebecca Santana, Gisela Salomon and Elliot Spagat, Associated Press
Migrants fear promised mass deportations
Trump is moving to realize his pledge of mass deportations of at least 11 million people in the country illegally.
One order restores efforts to pursue everyone in the country illegally, moving away from the Biden administration’s more narrow deportation criteria. He also wants negotiations with state and local governments to deputize police to enforce immigration laws.
As in his first term, Trump also wants to end federal grants to “sanctuary” jurisdictions — states and cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Rocio, a 43-year-old single mother from Mexico who lives in South Florida, said she’s worried about her 13-year-old son. His father was deported when the boy was an infant, and he’s afraid the same thing could now happen to her.
Rocio, who asked to be identified only by her first name over fears about being detained, said she worries about driving without a license but needs to work to survive.
“We have to be very careful,” she said.
Erlinda, a single mother from El Salvador who arrived in 2013, has signed over legal rights to her U.S.-born children, ages 10 and 8, to Nora Sandigo, who has volunteered to be the guardian for more than 2,000 children in 15 years, including at least 30 since December.
“I am afraid for my children, that they will live the terror of not seeing their mother for a day, for a month, for a year,” said Erlinda, 45, who asked to be identified by first name only due to fears of being detained.
— Rebecca Santana, Gisela Salomon and Elliot Spagat, Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders and pardons in the Oval Office shortly after his inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria