The “Protecting the American People from Invasion” Executive Order (EO) is a wide-ranging directive that touches on a number of immigration initiatives, programs, and enforcement actions. One of the most consequential elements may be the revocation of the Biden-era immigration enforcement priorities. The new enforcement priorities will be less targeted on national security and public threats, and require any person who lack an immigration status to “register” with the U.S. government, and those who fail to do so, will become priorities for immigration enforcement (regardless of whether they have a criminal record or not).
The EO also limits the use of parole authority and temporary protected status, which allows persons who qualify to obtain protection from deportation and a work permit, allowing them to have full and equal rights in the workplace, and prohibits work permits from being issued to persons without an immigration status. It also directs the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that all agencies identify and stop any person who lacks an immigration status from getting any public benefits (even though nearly all are already prohibited from receiving them). It also directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to review all federal funds provided to non-governmental organizations that may provide services to persons without immigration status, and to terminate those contracts and try to recoup the funds.
The EO directs DHS and DOJ to withhold federal funds from state and local jurisdictions that have policies directing local law enforcement to not cooperate with DHS—commonly referred to as sanctuary jurisdictions—as a way to punish those jurisdictions and compel them to assist federal immigration enforcement. (Immigration enforcement, however, is the responsibility of the federal government and federal courts have upheld the legality of sanctuary jurisdictions, and sanctuary policies do not prevent local law enforcement from doing their jobs.)
The EO also tells DHS to expand the program known as 287(g), that empowers local law enforcement to carry out the same functions as an immigration officer. Another notable element of the EO is that it directs DHS to take action to expand the available detention facilities for immigrants and states that migrants should be detained pending their removal. This would require a massive expansion of the government’s detention capacity.