For two-and-a-half months since the election and for what seems like years before that, we’ve been hearing from Donald Trump and his surrogates about how they would deport millions of people, block refugees, end birth-right citizenship, and implement a campaign of “shock and awe” against those in our country illegally. Earlier this week, Mr. Trump was finally sworn in, and his specific agenda is starting to take shape. In some ways, it is easier to deal with his actual policies than to wonder and worry about what he might do. Here, we’ll discuss some of the President’s initial executive orders and how they might affect asylum seekers and other non-citizens in the US of A.

Declaring a National Emergency at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Mr. Trump wants to stop anyone from entering unlawfully at the U.S. border or requesting asylum there. To that end, he ended the use of CBP-One, an app that allowed asylum seekers to make an appointment at the border (and which helped dramatically limit the number of asylum seekers at the border by the end of Mr. Biden’s term). He is also declaring Mexican cartels and certain gangs to be a terrorist threat, which will help justify using the military to secure the border. What exactly the military will do, and whether they have the capacity for such a mission, we will see. We will also see the return of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced asylum seekers to litigate their asylum cases from Mexico. It sounds like the Mexican government may not be on board with this idea, so how the plan will play out, we will again have to wait to see. Of course, these executive orders (and many others) are subject to legal challenges, which may delay or limit their implementation. 

Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship: The 14th Amendment states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” While this clause seems pretty self evident, the President hopes to end citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants. As I understand it, the argument hinges on the intent of the Amendment (to protect African Americans) and the clause “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” which leaves some wiggle room for certain people born in the U.S. to parents who are not subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. The most well-known example here are children of diplomats. The Administration’s arguments seem weak, but given the make-up of the Supreme Court, I guess nothing is impossible. If Mr. Trump succeeds, we will potentially have generations of people born in our country who will not belong here or anywhere else, which seems to me a recipe for problems. 

Suspend Refugee Resettlement: Last time he was in office, Mr. Trump dramatically reduced the number of refugees resettled in the United States. Now the President has ordered a halt to refugee resettlement for at least four months, and I suppose this policy will be extended. Sadly, when the U.S. shuts its doors, other nations follow suit, and given the unprecedented number of refugees and displaced people in the world, we can expect that many innocents will suffer. 

Encourage Federal-State Cooperation: The President has directed DHS to reach agreement with states so that police officers can basically act as immigration officers. Many states will decline this invitation. For those that cooperate, we can expect that immigrant communities will become less willing to work with law enforcement, likely making everyone more unsafe. 

Reversing President Biden’s (and Other Former Presidents’) Policies: The executive orders rescind a number of prior rules, including paroling large number of people into the United States (Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Cubans, and others), limiting Temporary Protected Status, depriving “sanctuary jurisdictions” of federal funds, ending funding to non-profits that assist immigrants, and denying public benefits to “illegal aliens.” On this last point, “illegal alien” is not a term in the Immigration & Nationality Act, and so it is not clear (at least to me) who is actually targeted under this provision.

Work Permits: One executive order states that DHS should ensure “that employment authorization is provided in a manner consistent with section 274A of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1324a), and that employment authorization is not provided to any unauthorized alien in the United States.” Does this mean that asylum seekers who arrived at the border without a visa will now be denied employment authorization? 

Hiring More Agents: The President orders that DHS “shall take all appropriate action to significantly increase the number of agents and officers available to perform the duties of immigration officers.” Where the money will come from for new hires, the order does not say. Also, hiring new agents takes months or years, and so the impact of such an order will not be immediate. 

Expedited Removal and Detention: The President directs that recent entrants should be subject to expedited removal, which would allow people who crossed into the U.S. recently to be removed with less due process protection. To facilitate these removals, the President directs that enforcement agencies should “allocate all legally available resources or establish contracts to construct, operate, control, or use facilities to detain removable aliens.” Again, I do not know if there is money for this, and it seems like another long-term project. 

I guess that’s enough for now. This is a moving target–orders are being issued, legal challenges filed, more orders will presumably be coming. It will take some time to get a sense of how people on the ground are being affected. For now, it is best to remain calm, keep an eye on the news, and take reasonable precautions so you are ready for whatever may come.