What do President Trump's immigration-related executive orders do?
Just a few weeks have passed since Inauguration Day, and President Donald Trump has already issued dozens of executive orders and actions — several relating to the U.S. immigration system and border security.
Read below for a rundown of the biggest changes President Trump is calling for:
On his first day in office, Mr. Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, giving him the ability to allocate federal money to go toward building the border wall and the ability to send troops to the border — something that is already happening.
The president has not just taken action to shore up the border against illegal immigration. He's also directing immigration officials to find and remove immigrants who are already in the country illegally and have committed crimes.
"These executive orders prioritize detention of noncitizens here illegally," said immigration attorney Paul Hunker, who formerly served as Chief Counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas. "I think that's worrisome for people. I think the purported largest deportation in history is scary for people as well."
According to Hunker, fulfilling the Trump campaign promise of mass deportations would require ICE to acquire significant additional detention space and send a lot more immigration officers on the streets to carry out arrests.
At the end of last month, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare Guantanamo Bay Naval Base for use as a migrant detention facility. The first group of migrant detainees was sent to Guantanamo Bay this week.
Another executive order calls for the expansion of the 287(g) program, which allows the federal government to deploy local and state law enforcement to help them enforce immigration laws. Typically, that's the job of federal authorities.
Mr. Trump is also attempting to alter some legal immigration laws.
On his first day in office, he shut down CBP One, a mobile app that created a lottery system allowing asylum-seekers the chance to request a time to be processed at legal border entry points.
Another executive order revokes birthright citizenship — a move that's been legally challenged and is currently on hold.
Hunker said he believes this order will ultimately be struck down. He said he also believes the president's order saying Border Patrol agents can deport asylum-seekers without a hearing will also likely face an uphill battle.
"The Immigration and Nationality Act guarantees people the right to present a claim for asylum and protection," he said. "They have a right to say 'I fear persecution in my country.'"
