Immigration Policy Tracking Project

Outline: Border Enforcement and Asylum Prohibitions (as of 2/27/25)

Key EO’s and Proclamations to restrict the border and limit or eliminate access to asylum.

Proclamation 10886, 10888; EO 14159, 14165, 14167, 14193, 14194, event w/out EO 14157 threat of Alien Enemy Act, and designating cartels as terrorist organizations.

Major Buckets:

Declared “situation at the southern border” an “invasion” under Article IV
- Proclamation 10888: Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion
- Used 212(f) authority to suspend entry of noncitizens “engaged in the invasion across the southern border” to restrict those noncitizens from “invoking provisions of the INA that would permit their continued presence” in the U.S., including restricting right to apply for asylum
- Proclamation 10888: Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion
Declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border;
- Proclamation 10886: Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States
Sent resources and military personnel to the border to carry out his agenda
- EO 14159: Protecting the American People Against Invasion
- EO 14165: Securing Our Borders
- EO 14167: Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the U.S.
- EO 14194: Imposing Duties to Address the Situation at Our Southern Border
- EO 14193: Imposing Duties to Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across Our Northern Border
Ending lawful pathways and burdening travelers
- EO 14159: Protecting the American People Against Invasion
- EO 14165: Securing Our Borders
- EO 14161: Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats
Increased detention and prosecutions of noncitizens who cross the border
- Proclamation 10886: Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of US
- EO 14165: Securing Our Borders
- EO 14159: Protecting the American People Against Invasion
Reinstituted Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)
- EO 14165: Securing Our Borders
Laid groundwork for Travel/Muslim Ban, child separation, and invocation of Alien Enemies Act.
- EO 14159: Protecting the American People Against Invasion
- EO 14161: Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats
- EO 14165: Securing Our Borders
- EO 14157: Designating Cartels and Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists

Declared there was an “invasion” at the southern border and invoked 212(f) authority to restrict access to asylum
1. In Proclamation 10888, President Trump declared the “current situation at the southern border” an “invasion” under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution and invoked his 212(f) authority in response to this “invasion” to “suspend the entry” of all noncitizens seeking asylum at the border. The Proclamation:
  1. Restricts arriving noncitizens’ right to apply for asylum in the U.S. under INA 208
    1. This includes suspending asylum processing at the southern border
  2. Suspends the physical entry of noncitizens seeking asylum into the U.S. and directs agencies to take actions to repel, repatriate, or remove noncitizens who attempt to enter the U.S. to seek asylum
    1. NGO suit claiming this Proclamation unlawfully denies asylum and other humanitarian provisions “expressly granted by Congress”
Declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border
1. Proclamation 10886 declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and called for the US military to respond to the emergency
Sending significant resources and personnel to the border to carry out immigration agenda
1. Increasing immigration enforcement at the border
  1. EO 14159, Section 21 directs DHS to “significantly” increase the number of CBP and ICE personnel available to perform the duties of immigration officers
2. Send military and National Guard soldiers and resources to the border
  1. Proclamation 10886, Section 1 calls for additional military and National Guard soldiers and resources to be deployed to the border with the aim of “securing operational control”
  2. EO 14165, Section 4 directs DHS and the DOD to deploy additional personnel to the border for the same purpose
  3. EO 14167 directs the DOD to assign the US Northern Command to carry out a mission to “seal the borders” of the United States by “repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration”
    1. Thousands of soldiers - from the Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marines - have been sent to the border to help with barrier construction, interdiction, and deportation efforts. The White House and DOD have released videos and photos showing soldiers and immigration enforcement officers reinforcing the border wall.
3. Coercing the assistance of Mexican and Canadian authorities to police the borders, under threat of tariffs.
4. Deputize State and local law enforcement and National Guard forces to carry out immigration enforcement at the border. [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]
  1. EO 14159, Section 11 directs DHS to maximally authorize state and local law enforcement to be immigration officers, including through INA § 287(g) agreements [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]
  2. EO 14165, Section 2(f) directs federal agencies to “cooperate fully with State and local law enforcement officials in enacting Federal-State partnerships to enforce Federal immigration priorities” [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]
  3. Texas has indicated its intentions to fully cooperate with the Trump administration’s border and enforcement efforts, and Texas Governor Greg Abbot is sending deputized Texas National Guard soldiers to act as immigration officers at the border under the supervision of CBP.
Ending lawful pathways and burdening travelers
1. Ended CBP One
  1. EO 14165, Section 7(a) directed DHS to stop using the CBP One app
    1. On inauguration day, CBP ended the CBP One scheduling system and cancelled all scheduled appointments, affecting thousands
2. Ended categorical parole programs
  1. EO 14165, Section 7(b) directed DHS to terminate “categorical parole programs,” including CHNV and the Uniting for Ukraine parole processes [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]
    1. Section 2 of the same EO directed DHS to ensure that “all future parole determination fully comply with this order”
    2. In response, USCIS paused the CHNV, Family Reunification, Central American Minors, and Uniting for Ukraine parole processes [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]
    3. EO 14159, Section 16 directed agencies to exercise parole authority only on a “case-by-case” basis [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]
3. Shutdown “safe mobility” offices.
  1. DOS shut down “Safe Mobility Initiative” offices in Latin America which provided migrants with free screenings for potential lawful pathways to the U.S. Secretary of State Rubio issued a press release on January 22nd stating that DOS “will no longer undertake any activities that facilitate or encourage mass migration.”
4. Require “maximum vetting” for all noncitizens seeking admission to the U.S.
  1. EO 14161, Sections 2(a) and 3(a) directs agencies to subject all noncitizens seeking admission to the U.S. to “maximum vetting”
Increased detentions and prosecutions of noncitizens who cross the border
1. Proclamation 10886, Section 4 directs DHS and DOD to prioritize impeding unlawful entry at the border
2. End “catch-and-release”
  1. EO 14165, Section 5 directs DHS to end “catch and release” and detain noncitizens until removal [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]
    1. The same day, CBP issued a memo ordering personnel to “take every reasonable action to ensure that [noncitizens] that enter the United States without proper immigration documents are detained until removed.” Any grants of parole under 212(d) must be approved in writing and require individual justification for urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons.
    2. Reports indicate that Border Patrol agents have been ordered to stop issuing NTAs and releasing noncitizens on their own recognizance without approval, which generally is given for medical reasons.
  2. EO 14159, Section 10 directs DHS to detain all apprehended noncitizens during their removal proceedings
3. Prioritize prosecution of offenses related to the border
  1. EO 14165, Section 10 directs DOJ to prioritize “offenses that relate to the borders of the U.S.,” including those that involve human smuggling and trafficking
  2. EO 14159, Section 5 directs the DOJ to “prioritize the prosecution of criminal offense related to the unauthorized entry or continued unauthorized presence” of noncitizens in the US
  3. DOJ released a memo the day after the inauguration directing US Attorney’s Offices to pursue charges for criminal immigration-related violations [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]
    1. The Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office announced they filed 565 immigration-related charges during the first two weeks of the Trump administration, including for illegal reentry
  4. DOJ released another memo on February 5 directing the agency to use “all available criminal statutes to combat the flood of illegal immigration” and to support DHS’ immigration and removal efforts
Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) to resume
1. EO 14165, Section 6 directs agencies to resume Migrant Protection Protocols
  1. On January 21st, DHS reinstated MPP, meaning those noncitizens who are permitted to seek asylum in the United States will be required to remain in Mexico while their claims are adjudicated
    1. NGO suits alleging MPP is unlawful and asking that the implementation of MPP be stayed
Laid groundwork for future policies affecting the border
1. Paved the way for another Travel/Muslim Ban
  1. EO 14161, Sections 2(b) and (c) directs agencies report to President Trump within 60 days of inauguration with a list of countries where screening information is “so deficient” as to warrant suspension of admission of their nationals, pursuant to the President’s authority under 212(f).
    1. This was the same authority and reasoning Trump used to implement the “Muslim Ban” when he first took office in 2017
2. Paved the way for another child separation policy
  1. EO 14159, Section 18(b) directs agencies to “stop trafficking and smuggling of children” into the U.S
  2. EO 14165, Section 9(b) directs DHS to use “technologies and procedures” to determine the validity of any claimed familial relationship between noncitizens encountered by immigration enforcement
3. Possible invocation of Alien Enemies Act
  1. EO 14157 directed agencies to make operational preparations for any decision President Trump’s might make to invoke the Alien Enemies Act [Note: this also appears in the interior section above]