Trump takes fast action on border security and enforcement

The first week of the Trump Administration has not disappointed!

After getting sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, Pres. Trump took immediate action by signing 10 immigration-related executive orders and proclamations on his first day in office. The actions aim to secure the border, strengthen enforcement, and end birthright citizenship.

IAP Legal Analyst Jared Culver has a full rundown of all the actions that the President took on day one. Read his analysis here: Shock and Awe Leads to Maximum Pressure.

We've also launched our new Administration Accountability resource that will help hold the Trump Administration (and future administrations) accountable for their actions by tracking every executive action taken on the issue of immigration. Visit our new Administration Accountability tool by clicking on the following link.

Administration Accountability

IAP's Grant Newman testifies before Congress

Director of Government Relations Grant Newman testified before the House Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement on Wednesday morning. The hearing focused on restoring immigration enforcement in America.

Grant's testimony compared the Biden Administration's border security and enforcement efforts with the first Trump Administration and emphasized the need for Congress to pass strong enforcement legislation to prevent a future administration from again opening the flood gates for illegal immigration. He also highlighted what the second Trump Administration has already done to secure the border and strengthen interior enforcement. Watch Grant's full testimony by clicking on the image below. You can read his written testimony here.

Also in Congress, the Senate passed the Laken Riley Act (S. 5) on Monday that requires certain criminal aliens to be detained. The House approved the Senate version on Wednesday, sending the bill to Pres. Trump's desk for his signature to become the first bill signed into law under his administration.

Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) introduced the Birthright Citizenship Act (H.R. 569), and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) introduced the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 251) that would require most employers to use E-Verify within one year, and all employers to use it within three years. Read more about both pieces of legislation in the news section below.

IAP Commentary

Shock and Awe Leads to Maximum Pressure
By Jared Culver, Legal Analyst
President Trump has done the impossible and made a media prediction come true. Before the inauguration, there were reports of incoming "shock and awe." There are many moons to go, but it cannot be said that President Trump did not try to move military and law enforcement bureaucratic machinery toward defending America in his first few days. We ain't in Trump 1.0 anymore, Toto.

Immigration News

Trump's House GOP allies push birthright citizenship bill after progressive fury at presidential order
With the new Congress, great legislation has been dropping daily. One of the best followed President Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship: The Birthright Citizenship Act by Dr. Brian Babin (R, TX-36). This common-sense bill would end automatic birthright citizenship for illegal aliens and nonimmigrants (like tourists and guestworkers) by clarifying that they are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States at birth. It would end birth tourism and the use of children as “anchor babies” for people who came in illegally, and put the United States more in line with the rest of the developed world. Dr. Babin has been a champion of this effort since 2021.

“Citizenship is one of our nation’s most precious privileges. By introducing this legislation, we are taking an important step to restore integrity to our immigration system and prioritize the interests of American citizens.” - Dr. Brian Babin

Rep. Calvert Reintroduces the Legal Workforce Act to Require the Use of E-Verify
Rep. Ken Calvert (R, CA-41) introduced the Legal Workforce Act in the past week. This is the gold standard House bill for mandating nationwide E-Verify for all employers. Mandatory E-Verify is one of the best ways to deter future waves of illegal aliens, who primarily come for job opportunities. Rep. Calvert’s bill phases-in E-Verify over a 2.5 year period by business size and has helpful tools, like alerts for Social Security number fraud. It was incorporated in H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, last Congress.

“I believe American jobs should go to people legally authorized to work in our country and am reintroducing the Legal Workforce Act to make the use of E-Verify mandatory… Having a mandatory workforce verification system in place is a key component of fixing our broken immigration system that rewards people who break our immigration laws. The Legal Workforce Act is also necessary to protect the wages and benefits of American workers from being undercut by cheaper labor from illegal immigrants.” -Rep. Ken Calvert

A federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship
Only a few days after President Trump announced he was going to end birthright citizenship with an executive order, a Federal court in Seattle has placed a temporary injunction that blocked its implementation. Twenty-two states in five separate lawsuits, along with the ACLU, had immediately sued to stop the order. This particular lawsuit, led by Washington, Arizona, Oregon, and Illinois, was the first to reach this stage. We anticipate that litigation will continue, and we may finally see the Supreme Court rule on whether or not the 14th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees citizenship at birth to children of illegal aliens and temporary visitors.

Trump Officials Move to Quickly Expel Migrants Biden Allowed In Temporarily
In breaking news this morning, the New York Times has obtained a memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which appears to show that the Trump Administration is planning to remove illegal aliens who received parole from at least two of the illegal parole programs established by the Biden Administration: CHNV and CBP One app parole. The Biden Administration had allowed 1,468,190 illegal aliens into the country and given them work authorization in a scheme to make it appear that the border crisis was slowing. In reality, they had simply invented so-called “lawful pathways” to reduce apprehension numbers. We’ll be watching this story and administrative developments as they continue.

Next Week

The Senate will continue with confirmations for Pres. Trump's Cabinet, including DHS Secretary nominee Kristi Noem. The House is on recess until Feb. 4.