Closing the Borders and Deporting the Undocumented
Mar 04, 2025The Trump Administration is revamping our nation’s immigration system
Several of the Executive Orders (EOs) — and the recission of EOs issued by previous presidents — issued by President Donald Trump following his inauguration were aimed at completely revamping the United States immigration system as part of his America First agenda. The effective implementation of expanded 287(g) programs (i.e. collaborative ICE-state-local immigration enforcement actions) and the planned deportation initiatives that are central to this agenda will require coordination between federal, state, and local agencies.
Executive Orders
Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship — This EO seeks to redefine and decrease the availability of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to those born in the United States. The EO asserts that this constitutional provision does not extend citizenship to all individuals born in the United States. The EO seeks to overturn United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), a Supreme Court case that held that children born in the United States to foreign parents are United States citizens under the 14th Amendment.
Specifically, the EO seeks to exclude United States citizenship to:
- “A mother who was unlawfully present in the United States at the time of the child’s birth, where the father is not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident.
- A mother whose presence in the United States was lawful but temporary (e.g., under a tourist, work, or student visa), where the father is not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident.”
The order drew immediate legal challenges, with at least five lawsuits brought by 22 states and several immigrant rights groups. A lawsuit brought by Washington, Arizona, Oregon, and Illinois was the first to get a hearing, where a federal judge in Washington temporarily blocked this EO, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion—This EO defines migration at the southern border as an “invasion” and imposes new vetting requirements for anyone immigrating to the United States. Prior to entry, immigrants will face enhanced conditions, including medical and criminal background information. The EO also expands expedited removal and revokes humanitarian parole programs created by the Biden Administration. Individuals who have secured legal status under those programs will be unable to renew work permits.
While the EO is focused on the southern border, United States Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security are expected to impose additional restrictions on business immigration at all points of entry.
Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specifically Designated Global Terrorists: This EO specifies that within 14 days, the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security “shall take all appropriate action, in consultation with the secretary of state, to make operational preparations for implementing the Alien Enemies Act.
“Should President Trump invoke the Alien Enemies Act, he would have the power to unilaterally order or permit the arrest, imprisonment, or removal — without trial or hearing — of any citizen of a country that the president declares to be an “enemy nation” or a nation that has invaded the United States.
Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program: This EO halts the admission of any refugees into the United States until further notice and suspends the United States Refugee Assistance Program (USRAP) as of January 27, 2025.
Securing Our Borders: This EO directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end humanitarian parole programs that “are not in the national interest.” The EO has eliminated the processes through which nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela — and their immediate family members — may request to come to the United States. The EO also limits individuals’ ability to invoke certain protections of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) so they can stay in the United States pending review of their immigration benefit applications.
Recissions of Previously Issued and Operative Executive Orders
President Donald Trump has also rescinded a number of the immigration-related EOs issued by his predecessors, including: Executive Order 14012 “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans” — This EO specifically addressed business immigration and streamlined the naturalization process. It reduced the number of visa denials and Requests for Evidence (RFEs) that had been issued during the first Trump administration. The EO also reinstated the USCIS policy of giving deference to prior approvals. In connection with the recission of this EO, employers can expect to encounter more RFEs and slower adjudications of employment-based applications for work visas and green cards in the coming months.
Executive Order 13993 “Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities“ — This EO prioritized enforcement efforts based on national security, border security, and public safety. The EO required notification to state and local authorities of at-large enforcement actions. By all indicators, enforcement in all areas of business immigration — i.e., random I-9s audits and workplace “raids” — will be expanded during the Trump administration. Employers can anticipate increased delays and costs related to business immigration efforts.
Executive Order 14010 “Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework to Address the Causes of Migration, to Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and to Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border.” — This EO concerned understanding and addressing some of the root causes of migration, the expansion of asylum protection in other nations, the creation of more paths to legal migration to the United States, and the strengthening of asylum policies.The Trump Administration has closed the border and shut down the CBP One app for asylum seekers. The CBP One app allowed migrants to schedule appointments to enter the United States. The recission of this EO will potentially turn away tens of thousands of migrant workers who regularly travel to the United States for work.
Executive Order 14011 “Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families” — This EO ended the child separation policy and created a task force to facilitate reunification. Reunification has not been completed. Lawyers working to reunite families stated that by March 2024, an estimated 2,000 children remained “lost.”
Executive Order 14013 “Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration” — This EO helped to minimize delays in resettlement, family reunification, restoring The United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), and protecting Afghans and Iraqi Special Immigrants.
On January 20, 2025, nearly 1,660 Afghans whom the United States government had cleared to resettle in the United States — including family members of active-duty United States military personnel — had their flights canceled and have been prohibited from boarding flights to the United States.
The Potential Impact
The actions described above could significantly impact business operations for a range of employers in the months ahead. While numerous court challenges to these EOs are already underway, many will probably survive litigation. Congress has also just passed — and President Trump signed it into law on January 29, 2025 —the Laken Riley Act. This legislation “mandates the federal detention of illegal immigrants who are accused of theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and any crime that causes death or serious bodily injury.” Undocumented workers or those living in mixed-status families are already concerned about coming to work. Many are staying away. Economists predict that large-scale deportations and other anti-immigration actions could cause a significant economic contraction.
According to Forbes, the cost of mass deportation will be astronomical, estimated between $114 billion and $303.7 billion, and the human and economic ripple effects could be extensive. The expense of mass deportation would be compounded by the loss of tax contributions from immigrant households and the broader economic slowdown. Economists estimate that these actions would remove approximately one million immigrant entrepreneurs, disrupting local economic ecosystems and service industries. Mixed-status households would see their incomes potentially halved, pushing many families into poverty. The housing market could destabilize due to mortgage defaults, and overall consumer spending could decline dramatically.
What Next?
All employers should be prepared for heightened immigration law enforcement. If you are subject to an I-9 audit or investigation by ICE or related governmental authorities, you could face civil fines of up to $2,789 per form and up to $5,579 (first offense) for knowingly hiring undocumented workers. If employers are found to be harboring undocumented workers, they could face criminal charges and penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. Employers would be well advised to review their I-9 compliance efforts and possibly conduct their own “self-audits” sothat they feel comfortable they have properly screened their employees to make sure they have the legal right to work in the United States, and to confirm that their I-9 paperwork is in order.
If you have any questions or concerns about your compliance with emerging immigration policies, the legal status of new hires, I-9 recordkeeping, or any other issue involving foreign nationals and workforce development plans, don’t hesitate to contact Orr & Reno for assistance.
