President Donald Trump signed a string of high-profile executive orders from the Oval Office Monday, representing a drastic overhaul of U.S. immigration policy.
The new orders include the declaration of a national emergency at the southern U.S. border, restrictions on birthright citizenship and a temporary suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
The emergency declaration will enable Cabinet secretaries to deploy more personnel, allow the building of more physical barriers and calls on agency officials to take all appropriate legal action to stop "unauthorized physical entry" at the border.
It also provides for the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which gives the President the authority under certain circumstances to deploy military and National Guard personnel, in this case "to obtain complete operational control of the southern border."
A separate order tasks parts of the U.S. military with planning to address "unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities" at the southern U.S. border.
One order directs federal agencies to step up immigration enforcement and deportations, create new immigration detention centers and deny federal funding for sanctuary cities.
Another declares the immigration situation at the southern border an "invasion" as defined by the U.S. Constitution and orders "suspending the physical entry of aliens involved in an invasion into the United States across the southern border until I determine that the invasion has concluded."
Other orders passed Monday designate drug cartels as foreign terror organizations and end "catch and release" practices for immigrants present in the country illegally.
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President Trump had indicated swift action on immigration and border security was imminent. During his campaign, in rallies ahead of his inauguration and during his appearance at Capital One Arena Monday, he repeated promises to suppress illegal immigration and deport those who were residing in the country illegally.
The president had promised to declare a national emergency at the southern border and reinstate the "remain in Mexico" policy. In his inaugural address, Trump also said he would complete the border wall.
The mechanisms for carrying out some ordered or proposed immigration changes still aren't clear. Some of the orders or proposed orders are also expected to be challenged in court.
The orders come after the Trump administration earlier in the day shut off access to the CBP One app, which facilitated appointments for immigrants seeking to legally enter the country.
"Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One™ that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been cancelled," a message on the Customs and Border Patrol website says.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
