By April Xu, DOCUMENTED | Editorial credit: David Peinado Romero
Experts believe the executive orders reframe immigration as a national security threat, with a strong emphasis on enforcement. While the military’s role in supporting border security has been expanded, it remains primarily focused on logistical support.
President Donald Trump has signed 11 executive orders related to immigration, which combined with his inaugural speech, send a clear message about heavy immigration enforcement to come.
Documented has been going through the details of each executive order from the White House, and we talked to experts to understand what these may mean for our communities.
Of the 11 executive orders, two are headlined here: “declaring a national emergency at the southern U.S. border” and another “clarifying the military’s role in safeguarding the nation’s territorial integrity.”
Experts believe Trump’s executive orders regarding the US-Mexico border reframe immigration as a national security threat with a strong emphasis on enforcement. While the military’s role in supporting border security has been expanded, it remains primarily focused on logistical support.
What power does a president have during a national emergency?
Passed in 1976, the National Emergencies Act grants the president temporary enhanced executive powers during a crisis. Under a national emergency, the president can expedite actions by bypassing congressional approval. Today, for example, it would enable Trump to reallocate military funds for border wall construction.
The act provides presidents access to over 100 statutory powers, and safeguards against misuse remain insufficient, according to a report by the Brennan Center for Justice. Presidents can keep extending emergencies every year indefinitely. Congress can vote to end an emergency, but they need enough votes to override a presidential veto for it to work.
This is not the first time Trump has sought to leverage the National Emergencies Act to expand presidential authority. In February 2019, during his first term, Trump declared a national emergency after Congress denied funding for his proposed border wall with Mexico. Although Congress passed a resolution to block his declaration, Trump vetoed it.
According to Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute’s U.S. Immigration Policy Program, Trump’s executive order declaring a national emergency is similar to the one he issued in 2019. Both orders request resources, especially to enhance physical barriers — meaning the border wall — and direct the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to take “appropriate measures” to construct additional sections of the wall along the southern border.
Why did Trump declare a national emergency at the US-Mexico border?
The order said that “cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics” have posed great and imminent threats to Americans and the country as justifications for the emergency declaration.
What will happen after the declaration of national emergency?
The executive order will bring military support to the border. It directs the Department of Defense to deploy military personnel, including Ready Reserve and the National Guard, to support border security efforts and authorizes the construction of additional physical barriers along the southern border. However, how many military personnel will be sent to the border is unclear.
In addition, the order aims to revise immigration enforcement strategies by “prioritizing the impedance and denial of the unauthorized physical entry of aliens across the southern border of the United States.” It also reduces the restriction of the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to counter unmanned aerial systems within five miles of the southern border.
“It really recategorizes immigration as a national security threat and puts into place both at the border with a national security lens as well as in the interior with a threat to public safety and well-being of American communities,” said Doris Meissner, former Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, who now directs the Migration Policy Institute’s U.S. immigration policy work.
She said the series of executive orders indicates that Trump’s administration is focused more on heightened enforcement rather than the broad aim of the immigration system, which encourages legal immigration as a positive asset for the country.
Who is the primary group who will be affected by this executive order?
“It depends on the language about military use and resource allocation,” said Putzel-Kavanaugh, referencing the executive order’s directive to “prioritize the impedance and denial of unauthorized physical entry of aliens across the southern border of the United States.”
“That would presumably mean both resources and personnel for operational needs like transportation, detention and other logistics.” Putzel-Kavanaugh explained. “In that way, that would be focusing more on people who have crossed the border and are being processed by border authorities.”
How will it change the military’s role in immigration law enforcement?
Trump issued a related executive order emphasizing involving the U.S. Armed Forces in border security to address threats to national sovereignty and security.
The executive order declares that border protection is a national priority and directs the Armed Forces to actively participate in securing the U.S. borders. It directs the Secretary of Defense to revise the Unified Command Plan, assigning U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) the mission of “sealing the borders” to prevent unlawful migration, narcotics trafficking, and other criminal activities.
Experts believe Trump’s executive orders regarding the US-Mexico border reframe immigration as a national security threat with a strong emphasis on enforcement. While the military’s role in supporting border security has been expanded, it remains primarily focused on logistical support.
What power does a president have during a national emergency?
Passed in 1976, the National Emergencies Act grants the president temporary enhanced executive powers during a crisis. Under a national emergency, the president can expedite actions by bypassing congressional approval. Today, for example, it would enable Trump to reallocate military funds for border wall construction.
The act provides presidents access to over 100 statutory powers, and safeguards against misuse remain insufficient, according to a report by the Brennan Center for Justice. Presidents can keep extending emergencies every year indefinitely. Congress can vote to end an emergency, but they need enough votes to override a presidential veto for it to work.
This is not the first time Trump has sought to leverage the National Emergencies Act to expand presidential authority. In February 2019, during his first term, Trump declared a national emergency after Congress denied funding for his proposed border wall with Mexico. Although Congress passed a resolution to block his declaration, Trump vetoed it.
According to Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute’s U.S. Immigration Policy Program, Trump’s executive order declaring a national emergency is similar to the one he issued in 2019. Both orders request resources, especially to enhance physical barriers — meaning the border wall — and direct the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to take “appropriate measures” to construct additional sections of the wall along the southern border.
Why did Trump declare a national emergency at the US-Mexico border?
The order said that “cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics” have posed great and imminent threats to Americans and the country as justifications for the emergency declaration.
What will happen after the declaration of national emergency?
The executive order will bring military support to the border. It directs the Department of Defense to deploy military personnel, including Ready Reserve and the National Guard, to support border security efforts and authorizes the construction of additional physical barriers along the southern border. However, how many military personnel will be sent to the border is unclear.
In addition, the order aims to revise immigration enforcement strategies by “prioritizing the impedance and denial of the unauthorized physical entry of aliens across the southern border of the United States.” It also reduces the restriction of the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to counter unmanned aerial systems within five miles of the southern border.
“It really recategorizes immigration as a national security threat and puts into place both at the border with a national security lens as well as in the interior with a threat to public safety and well-being of American communities,” said Doris Meissner, former Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, who now directs the Migration Policy Institute’s U.S. immigration policy work.
She said the series of executive orders indicates that Trump’s administration is focused more on heightened enforcement rather than the broad aim of the immigration system, which encourages legal immigration as a positive asset for the country.
Who is the primary group who will be affected by this executive order?
“It depends on the language about military use and resource allocation,” said Putzel-Kavanaugh, referencing the executive order’s directive to “prioritize the impedance and denial of unauthorized physical entry of aliens across the southern border of the United States.”
“That would presumably mean both resources and personnel for operational needs like transportation, detention and other logistics.” Putzel-Kavanaugh explained. “In that way, that would be focusing more on people who have crossed the border and are being processed by border authorities.”
How will it change the military’s role in immigration law enforcement?
Trump issued a related executive order emphasizing involving the U.S. Armed Forces in border security to address threats to national sovereignty and security.
The executive order declares that border protection is a national priority and directs the Armed Forces to actively participate in securing the U.S. borders. It directs the Secretary of Defense to revise the Unified Command Plan, assigning U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) the mission of “sealing the borders” to prevent unlawful migration, narcotics trafficking, and other criminal activities.
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