Donald Trump will implement his sweeping anti-immigration agenda with an executive order to declare a national emergency over the U.S.-Mexico border, among 10 immigration-related actions he intends to take moments after he takes office.
In his inaugural address, the president declared that “all illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process or returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the place from which they came.’
American troops will “repel the disastrous invasion of our country,” he said.
“The last four years have created an unconscionable risk to public safety, public health and the national security of the United States due to the Biden administration border policies,” an incoming White House official told reporters Monday.
The emergency declaration will “erect physical barriers” to support U.S.-Mexico border wall construction and deploy military assets under the command of the Secretary of Defense, according to the official. It is unclear how many troops will be assigned to the southern border.
The official, speaking anonymously to preview the actions, said it will be up to the Pentagon to determine which personnel will be deployed. They did not share a copy or language in the actual text.
While there will be U.S. military service members stationed on the southern border, there will also be “other elements of the United States government working throughout the country,” the official said.
It is unclear what “emergency” the new administration is responding to. Monthly border crossings plummeted in 2024, compared to the record highs in 2023. Roughly 46,000 people crossed the border illegally in November, the lowest number during the Biden administration. Average daily crossings in December were expected to be the lowest since 2020, according to federal authorities.
The Trump official characterized the border as “overrun” with terrorists, drug cartels, and “military-age males from foreign adversaries,” as part of an “invasion” that “has caused widespread chaos and suffering.”
Following his 2016 campaign promise to construct a “giant wall” spanning the nearly 2,000 miles between the United States and Mexico, the president faced a series of legal challenges and funding battles to divert hundreds of millions of dollars for the effort. Trump’s pledge to veto any government spending bill that did not appropriate billions of dollars for border construction forced a shutdown from December 22, 2018, into January 25, 2019.
A series of federal court battles blocked Trump from redirecting funds towards his wall project under a national emergency declaration, and by the end of his first term in office, roughly 450 miles of wall had been constructed — most of which was replacing existing barriers.
Trump allies Steve Bannon and Brian Kolfage helped raise more than $20 million for their We Build the Wall scheme, which similarly faced court orders to shut down construction. Bannon, also has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy and fraud charges in New York, where he is accused of enriching himself and others with money raised for the project.
Biden issued a “pause” on border wall construction on his first day in office on January 20, 2021 but later pushed for 20 miles of fencing while waiving more than two dozen laws to to allow for its construction, including suspension of the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.
