Aides to President-elect Donald Trump have begun outlining some of the day-one executive orders he plans to sign immediately after his noon swearing-in on Monday. Among the first will be an order aimed at achieving a long-held goal of the MAGA movement.
On Sunday, Trump detailed a slate of 10 immigration-related executive orders he expects to sign just hours into his term. At a pre-inauguration rally, he promised to initiate “the most aggressive, sweeping effort to restore our borders the world has ever seen.”
Topping the list is a pledge to end birthright citizenship—a constitutional protection critics argue encourages illegal immigration by allowing individuals to remain in the U.S. if they give birth to a child on American soil. According to incoming White House officials on a Monday call, Trump’s executive order will no longer recognize this right “on a prospective basis.”
Under the 14th Amendment, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The ironclad language runs up against what Trump promises to do and will undoubtedly lead to multiple lawsuits from immigration advocates.
Officials elaborated on the call that ending birthright citizenship is just one of 10 executive orders Trump plans to sign. They emphasized that all of the proposed orders address “national security and public safety threats,” referencing incidents such as the murder of Laken Riley and other Americans killed by criminals who entered the country illegally.
Other changes will include ending the Biden-Harris administration’s catch-and-release policy and reinstating a policy requiring asylum seekers and illegal arrivals to remain in Mexico until their court dates, which could be eight or nine years away.
Additionally, Trump plans to declare a national emergency at the southern border, where unprecedented waves of migrants have led to the largest surge of illegal immigration in U.S. history. As part of this executive order, he will direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to resume construction of the border wall.