By Jackson, Landrith & Kulesz, PC on January 29th, 2025 in Immigration Updates
We’re one week in and Trump has issued several EOs that impact immigration. While most of the EOs are policy in nature, rather than concrete actions, here are a few notable actions and policies in these EOs that should be paid attention to:
Birthright Citizenship was always going to be a target, but most immigrant activists did not expect an executive order so obviously fraught with problems. With this executive order (Executive Order Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship) any child born in the U.S. after February 20th without a US citizen or permanent resident parent, would not be a U.S. citizen. Birthright citizenship is guaranteed in the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 to protect the citizenship of former slaves. The amendment was upheld by the Supreme Court, once about children of Chinese citizens imported to work on the railroads in California, and another time about the 14th amendment rights of children of undocumented immigrants. On Jan 23rd at a U.S. District Court in D.C., a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the administration from implementing the order nationally for the next 14 days, calling the EO “blatantly unconstitutional”. There will be another hearing on Feb. 6 on whether to issue a preliminary injunction against the order.
Enhanced Visa Vetting and Screening has been ordered through the (Executive Order Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.) Even though the Biden administration was already pursuing enhanced background checks, Trump has ordered “more stringent” vetting, which guarantees that all visa applications will take much longer to be approved from now on.
Remain in Mexico will resume. People trying to enter the U.S. from the southern border will not be allowed to enter to apply for asylum and will once again have to wait years in Mexico for their court dates. Through the (1) Executive Order Securing Our Borders, (2) Executive Order Guaranteeing the States Protections Against Invasion, (3) Executive Order Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, (4) Executive Order Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border, (5) Executive Order Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program, and (6) Executive Order Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States, the CBP One application has been terminated, maximum border mobilization with current border officials, military, and new detention centers will commence, and a national emergency at the border has been declared with immigrants being called invaders.
The Mexican and Canadian USMCA trade treaty may not be renewed in 2026, putting several business visa categories, like TN, E1, and E2 visas at risk with the Executive Order America First Trade Policy and Executive Order America First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State. This is part of Trump’s Buy American, Hire American (BAHA) Policy and tariff creation policy which is creating uncertainty for many businesses employing foreigners under other business visa categories as well, such as L1, B1, and H1B visas.
Stay tuned for more immigration news from JLK Attorneys at Law!