SA国际传谋 has partnered with PolitiFact to fact-check Florida politicians. The Pulitzer Prize-winning team seeks to present the true facts, unaffected by agenda or biases.
President Donald Trump set in motion some of his most controversial immigration promises during his first week back in office, declaring a national emergency at the U.S. southern border, ordering his administration to reinstate some of his first-term policies and ending programs that allowed people to legally enter the U.S.
Some of Trump鈥檚 actions took effect immediately 鈥� such as suspending the refugee resettlement program. Others, such as , are already facing legal challenges or will require additional funding and diplomatic agreements to be enforced. Immigration experts say the actions send a clear message and are already affecting immigrants in the country.
"What is particularly evident already about these actions is the confusion, fear, and uncertainty these policies are already evoking for immigrant families and their communities," Thomas J. Rachko, Jr., research manager at Georgetown University鈥檚 Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute said.
笔辞濒颈迟颈贵补肠迟鈥檚 is tracking the progress on 75 campaign promises Trump made during the presidential campaign, including several on immigration.
Here鈥檚 a sampling of what Trump did his first week back in the White House.
Declared an 鈥榠nvasion鈥� to deploy the military to the southwest border
On his first day in office, Trump at the U.S. southern border, laying the foundation for him to deploy armed forces there to help immigration officials stop illegal entries and resume building border barriers.
"It is necessary for the Armed Forces to take all appropriate action to assist the Department of Homeland Security in obtaining full operational control of the southern border," Trump鈥檚 declaration said.
Following Trump鈥檚 order, the Defense Department it was sending 1,500 ground personnel, helicopters and intelligence analysts "to support increased detection and monitoring efforts."
Trump鈥檚 declaration also empowers him to put already-allocated Defense Department money toward fulfilling his of "finishing the wall." Barring the declaration, he鈥檇 have to wait for Congress to give him the money, a less certain thing.
Ended programs and policies that allow people to legally enter the U.S.
Trump says he supports legal immigration, but he signed pausing or ending some programs that let people legally enter the U.S.
CBP One: He ended the CBP One app that let people make appointments at official ports of entry to begin requesting asylum. (Trump launched this app during his first term, but it was used to schedule the inspection of perishable cargo entering the United States.)
The Homeland Security Department canceled about 30,000 appointments, reported.
Humanitarian parole: Trump also ended a humanitarian parole program that let Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans come in legally and work with authorization for at least two years. About 530,000 people came in this way during Biden鈥檚 administration, Homeland Security shows.
Refugee program: Since the refugee resettlement program鈥檚 formalization in 1980, the U.S. has given people who are persecuted, or fear persecution, a haven, allowing them to move to the U.S. legally and eventually become eligible for U.S. citizenship. On his first day, Trump paused this program indefinitely. He the U.S. can鈥檛 absorb large numbers of refugees without compromising Americans鈥� resources and security.
Refugees are vetted before entering the U.S. and must pass background checks and be interviewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers overseas.
With the program suspended, the homeland security and state secretaries can admit refugees case by case. Every 90 days, they must also submit a report to Trump, detailing whether resuming the refugee program would benefit the U.S.
Limited birthright citizenship, leading to legal challenges
Aligning with his 2024 , Trump signed an restricting birthright citizenship 鈥� people鈥檚 right to become U.S citizens when they鈥檙e born in the U.S. Under Trump鈥檚 order, people born in the U.S. are not citizens if their mother is either in the U.S. temporarily or illegally and if the father is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident.
Multiple states Trump over the order鈥檚 constitutionality. On Jan. 23, a federal judge Trump鈥檚 order for 14 days saying its "harms are immediate, ongoing, and significant, and cannot be remedied in the ordinary course of litigation."
Trump signing the order on Day 1 is "testing the outer limits of executive branch power in the immigration sphere," Erin Corcoran, executive director of Notre Dame University鈥檚 Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, said.
Restarted Trump era program requiring people to stay in Mexico awaiting court hearings
Trump the Homeland Security department to reinstate the Remain in Mexico program that sent certain migrants seeking asylum to Mexico to await their U.S. immigration court proceedings. Trump started this policy in January 2019 and Biden ended it during his administration.
The Homeland Security department said it the program Jan. 21, but immigration experts have that to apply the policy, the U.S. needs Mexico's consent. On Jan. 22, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a that Mexico has not agreed to accept U.S. asylum seekers. But, she added that the government would provide migrants humanitarian assistance and options for returning to their home countries.
Expanded process for quick deportations without due process
To start one of his cornerstone campaign promises, to carry out the largest deportations in U.S. history, Trump鈥檚 Homeland Security Department expanded the use of expedited removal, a fast-track deportation process. Under expedited removal, immigration agents can deport people without a court hearing if those people lack a credible asylum case.
Under the new , agents can deport people living in the U.S. who can鈥檛 prove they鈥檝e been in the U.S. for more than two years. Previously, agents used only on people who were in the U.S. for less than two weeks and who were detained within 100 miles of a U.S. border.
Trump鈥檚 administration also an order that barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from conducting deportations at schools, religious buildings and health care centers.
Also, Trump the Homeland Security and Treasury secretaries to designate cartels and other groups as . This order could set the stage for Trump to use the , a 1798 law that lets the president quickly deport noncitizens without due process if they are from a country at war with the U.S.
Our Sources
- PolitiFact, , Jan. 23, 2025
- PolitiFact, , accessed Jan. 24, 2025
- The White House, , Jan. 20, 2025
- U.S. Defense Department, , Jan. 22, 2025
- PolitiFact, , Jan. 22, 2025
- The White House, , Jan. 20, 2025
- The Washington Post, , Jan. 20, 2025
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, accessed Jan. 24, 2025
- The White House, , Jan. 20, 2025
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, , accessed Jan. 20, 2025
- White House, , Jan. 20, 2025
- The New York Times, , Jan. 21, 2025
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, , Jan. 21, 2025
- X, , Jan. 19, 2025
- Reuters, , Jan, 22, 2025
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, , Jan. 21, 2025
- The New York Times, , Jan. 21, 2025
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, , Jan. 21, 2025
- White House, , Jan. 20, 2025
- PolitiFact, , Jan. 21, 2025
- PolitiFact, , Oct. 18, 2025
- Email interview, Erin Corcoran, executive director of Notre Dame University鈥檚 Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Jan. 23, 2025
- Email interview, Thomas J. Rachko, Jr., translational research Manager for Georgetown University鈥檚 Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute, Jan. 23, 2025
- Email interview, Jennifer Gordon, professor of law at Fordham University, Jan. 23, 2025
