Since assuming office on January 20, President Trump has acted swiftly by implementing over twenty-one actions to restrict immigration, enhance deportation, and limit asylum and refugee options. Additionally, the White House has provided public notice of deportation flights and is implementing new policies which will increase deportations and enforcement throughout the United States.
Trump’s Administration actions to Reassert Control and Enhance Immigration Enforcement.
Increased Deportations
The Trump Administration has placed a priority on removing undocumented immigrants from the United States; as an example of this, the Pentagon has agreed to use military aircraft to deport 5,000 people who were detained by the Border Patrol at the San Diego and El Paso border checkpoints. In the four days since the start of the Administration’s presidency, the President has already sent 1000+ people back to their countries and the President’s Border Czar has said deportation numbers will go up. There was a small diplomatic issue as Colombia would not allow two U.S. military aircraft carrying deported Colombian’s to fly to Colombia. This restriction was lifted after intervention from the U.S. government.
Expanded Expedited Removal Procedures
The Administration has re-instituted and expanded the “Expedited Removal” procedures for processing immigrants for deportation. Under prior policy, Expedited Removal procedures could only be used against migrants located within one hundred miles of the international border; under the new policy, the Expedited Removal procedures are applicable to any immigrant anywhere in the United States, whether or not the individual has been present in the United States for at least two years. The new policy reverses the scaling back of the Expedited Removal procedures during the prior Administration.
Deployment of Military Forces to Secure the United States-Mexico Border
In a recent press release from The Pentagon, “1,500 additional soldiers from the Active-Duty Army will be sent to assist in securing the US-Mexico border. Approximately 2,500 troops are currently deployed for a variety of duties (i.e., surveillance, helicopter support, and construction of the barrier)”. Reports indicate that there are plans for increased support by enlisting additional troops and conducting enforcement missions as needed. This recent deployment of active-duty military personnel follows the action previously taken by the past presidential administration in support of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Suspending Asylum and Refugees
A federal executive order directed the U.S. Border Patrol to suspend the processing of persons arriving at the border without lawful documents, as well as suspending the processing of applicants seeking asylum.
Entry into the United States can no longer be granted unless the individual has submitted an application for admission and/or qualifies under an exception to the “Section 212” requirement. At the same time, or as part of one of the above exceptions, the Refugee Resettlement Program and the Humanitarian Airlift Program were also shut down by the executive order. The Humanitarian Airlift Program was responsible for offering humanitarian assistance to over 30,000 monthly migrants fleeing Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Furthermore, the Executive Order announced that it plans to resume the implementation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy which requires that any asylum-seeking person from outside Mexico remain in Mexico while their asylum request is being evaluated.
Cancellation of Appointments and Elimination of CBP One App
The CBP One app, previously utilized to make border appointment reservations has been removed in accordance with White House directives. As a result of this announcement, approximately 30,000 individuals with appointments already made are stranded in Mexico with no way to enter the U.S., in addition to an estimated 270,000 migrants who were waiting for appointment slots. This new course of action lacked an immediately available practical path to obtaining asylum for many who will seek protection in the coming weeks and is causing advocates to file civil liberties lawsuits against the Federal Government.
Construction of Temporary Housing for Deportees in Mexico
In preparation for an increase in deportations to Mexico, the Mexican government is constructing temporary shelters in nine border towns in order to accommodate returning Mexican nationals. In order to provide each deportee with food, medical attention and assistance with identification and transportation, the shelters will provide all necessary items related to this basic need. Other regional governments, including Guatemala, are preparing similar setups at their borders to accommodate their deportees while being concerned about safety and capacity issues regarding their respective deportees, most of whom are fleeing violence or political unrest.
Increased ICE power and authority
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has received new powers and authorities through a number of executive actions, including rescinding administrative guidance that limited the agency’s ability to conduct enforcement operations within “sensitive” locations (i.e., schools, hospitals, religious establishments) and increasing collaboration with state and local law enforcement to facilitate enforcement of immigration laws. On January 26, ICE reported 956 arrests in several cities, including Chicago, Newark, and Miami. To put this in perspective, according to the previous administration, ICE arrested and detained more than 149,700 individuals in fiscal year 2024.
Case backlog and court disruption
The United States immigration court system has an estimated backlog of approximately 3.6 million cases. Since the current administration took office, the administration has terminated the employment of a number of senior immigration court personnel. This could adversely affect the speed at which cases are resolved and the length of time that it takes to schedule hearings on immigration cases.
The implementation of the new measures represents a very rapid and far-reaching change to the current policy regarding immigration enforcement in the United States. Overall, the level of enforcement of immigration laws has increased, both in terms of the overall number of individuals who are being deported, as well as how ICE conducts border operations and processes asylum claims. As the current administration mobilizes to implement its policies, litigation against them has already begun to occur, and tensions with foreign governments related to this new immigration policy have already begun to arise.
