Make America Great Again. America First. Promises made, promises fulfilled.
This is the context in which President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Orders on immigration should be read. Trump is not anti-alien. He married an alien. His wife, Melania, is from Novo Mesto, Slovenia. She is a naturalized citizen. Trump is for aliens – the good kind. Or the good looking kind.
The following are President Trump’s Executive Orders related to immigration which he signed on his first day in office – January 20, 2025:
1. Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
2. Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.
3. Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program.
4. Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.
5. Securing Our Borders
6. Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States.
7. Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.
8. America First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State.
9. Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
We shall discuss these Executive Orders in this article and in subsequent articles.
WHAT IS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN?
For purposes of this article and subsequent articles, the term “illegal alien” refers to a foreign born person who
- entered the U.S. without inspection,
- entered the U.S. with a temporary visa but stayed longer than their temporary visa permitted or violated the conditions of their visa, or
- does not have some form of temporary protected status.
President Trump’s Executive Orders use the term “illegal alien”.
The Immigration and Nationality Act does not use the term “undocumented alien”.
The Biden administration reportedly ordered U.S. Immigration authorities to stop using the term “illegal alien” and use the term “undocumented noncitizen”. If so, he was simply catering to the so-called “politically correct” but legally wrong.
Let us call a spade a spade (“tell it like it is” or call something by its proper name without sugarcoating it, even if it might seem unpleasant).
ILLEGAL ENTRY IS A CRIME
Illegal entry is a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the facts.
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides in § 275 [8 USC § 1325]. “(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts. Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
(b) Improper time or place; civil penalties. Any alien who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to enter) the United States at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil penalty of— (1) at least $50 and not more than $250 for each such entry (or attempted entry); or (2) twice the amount specified in paragraph (1) in the case of an alien who has been previously subject to a civil penalty under this subsection.
Civil penalties under this subsection are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any criminal or other civil penalties that may be imposed.”
(c) Marriage fraud. Any individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined not more than $250,000, or both.
PROTECTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AGAINST INVASION
This Executive Order is the basis for mass deportation and other federal government actions against illegal aliens.
The Executive Order criticizes the prior administration which “invited, administered, and oversaw an unprecedented flood of illegal immigration into the United States. Millions of illegal aliens crossed our borders or were permitted to fly directly into the United States on commercial flights and allowed to settle in American communities, in violation of longstanding Federal laws.”
The Executive Order declares that “it is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens.”
Pursuant to this policy, the Order:
1. Revokes all Executive Orders on immigration of the previous administration, particularly E.O. 13993 of January 20, 2021; E.O. 14010 of February 2, 2021; E.O. 14011 of February 2, 2021; and E.O. 14012 of February 2, 2021.
2. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate action to protect the public safety and national security interests of the American people, including the enforcement of final orders of removal, and ensure that the primary mission of the Department is the enforcement of laws related to illegal entry and unlawful presence of aliens in the U.S.
3. Directs the Attorney General in coordination with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate action to prioritize the prosecution of criminal offenses on unauthorized entry or continued unauthorized presence in the U.S.
4. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to jointly establish task forces in all States to include representation from other Federal agencies and state and local law enforcement agencies to fulfill the policy objectives of this order.
5. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to take action to identify unregistered illegal aliens and that failure of such aliens to register shall be treated as a civil and criminal enforcement priority.
6. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure the assessment and collection of all fines and penalties from aliens unlawfully present in the U.S.
7. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate action, in her sole and unreviewable discretion, to ensure the expedited removal of recent entrants and other illegal aliens from the U.S.
8. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to construct, operate, control, or use facilities to detain removable aliens, and to ensure the detention of aliens apprehended for violations of immigration laws pending the outcome of their removal proceedings or their removal from the country.
9. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to authorize State and local officials to perform the functions of immigration officials in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens in the U.S.
10. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to adopt policies and procedures to encourage aliens unlawfully in the U.S. to voluntarily depart as soon as possible.
11. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State to take appropriate action to ensure that foreign states accept their nationals and eliminate documentary barriers, dilatory tactics, or other restrictions.
12. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate action to establish a system to facilitate the administration of all bonds required to administer the provisions of INA.
13. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to reestablish the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) to provide support to victims of crime committed by removable aliens. The free hotline is 1-855-488-6423 or 1-855-48-VOICE. This office was established by President Trump in 2017. It was abolished by President Biden in 2021.
14. Directs the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to rescind the policy decisions of the previous administration that led to the increased or continued presence of illegal aliens in the United States, including the parole authority and temporary protected status, and ensuring that employment authorization is not provided to any unauthorized alien.
15. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which seek to interfere with federal law enforcement operations, do not receive access to federal funds, and to undertake civil or criminal action against such jurisdiction’s practices that interfere with the enforcement of federal law.
16. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to review and audit all contracts providing federal funding to non-governmental organizations supporting or providing services to removable or illegal aliens, to ensure that such agreements conform to applicable law, and that they do not promote or facilitate violations of immigration laws, and to initiate clawback or recoupment procedures.
17. Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to take action to ensure that all agencies identify and stop the provision of any public benefits to any illegal alien.
18. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to increase the number of agents and officers.
WHAT RELIEF IS AVAILABLE
There are various forms of relief available to illegal aliens. Each case has to be analyzed and evaluated by a competent and experienced lawyer. Hire one and let the lawyer do the worrying for you. This is not something that can be done by travel agents or nonlawyers. They might just mislead you and get you deported – as some travel agents have done - when you could have been saved.
We shall be discussing the other immigration-related executive orders in subsequent articles.
Atty. Emmanuel Samonte Tipon was a Fulbright and Smith-Mundt scholar to Yale Law School where he was awarded a Master of Laws degree specializing in Constitutional Law. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines. He placed third in the 1955 bar examinations. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, New York, and the Philippines. He practices federal law, with emphasis on constitutional issues, immigration law, and appellate federal criminal defense. He was the Dean and a Professor of Law of the College of Law, Northwestern University, Philippines. He has written law books and legal articles for the world’s most prestigious legal publishers including Thomson West and Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Co. and writes columns for newspapers. He wrote the case notes and annotations for the entire Immigration and Nationality Act published by The Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Co. and Bancroft-Whitney Co. (now Thomson Reuters.. He wrote the best-seller "Winning by Knowing Your Election Laws.” Atty. Tipon was born in Laoag City, Philippines. Cell Phone (808. 225-2645. E-Mail: attorneytipon@gmail.com filamlaw@yahoo.com. Website: https://www.tiponimmigrationguide.com
The information provided in this article is for general information only. It is not legal advice. Publication of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you or reading by you does not establish or constitute an attorney-client relationship.
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