America First, Migrants Last: Trump’s New Southern Border Policy

In a flurry of 37 executive orders signed by President Donald Trump during his first week in the Oval Office, eight regarded immigration. This proportion is unsurprising; Trump’s campaign revolved tightly around promises to stunt immigration, having long pledged to “restore the travel ban, suspend refugee admissions, stop the resettlement and keep the terrorists the hell out of our country.”

Trump’s new border policy isn’t as simple as just closing the border and getting “terrorists the hell out” of the United States. It encompasses a myriad of endeavors, each dealing a blow to the U.S.’ immigration program, which comprises one-fifth of the entire world’s international migrants. Below lists a handful of the Trump Administration’s embryonic, yet already destructive, immigration policies. It is crucial to understand the impacts of Trump’s agenda, as it will fundamentally transform the U.S.’ immigration process as we know it today. To do so, we must observe what actions Trump has taken so far, and what each of these policies will entail.

Eliminating CBP One

“CBP One came like a gift from God”, reflects Yoandis Delgado, an immigrant from Nicaragua who entered the U.S. in 2023. Launched in 2020 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP One is an app that offers resources for migrants, including scheduling appointments, securing travel authorization and accessing a plethora of migration-related materials. It has been cherished as a “salvation” by many migrants, principally those from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. However, CBP announced the app’s termination on January 20, 2025. Tens of thousands of appointments scheduled for upcoming months were canceled after the notice, leaving migrants stripped of CBP One’s resources. In its short lifetime, CBP One helped admit nearly one million migrants.

Ending humanitarian parole for migrants

On the first evening of his term, Trump halted an initiative that allowed migrants to apply for non-land-based entry in cases of “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit”. After receiving a U.S.-based sponsor and background check, these migrants could stay on American soil for up to two years with a work permit, which would shield them from deportation. Since 2023, nearly 532,000 migrants, predominantly Haitians, have benefitted from this program. Undeterred by its advantages, Trump argued that terminating the program would “protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement”. In reality, this program was crucial to reducing pressure on the land border with Mexico.

Canceling flights for refugees, including those already approved for travel

Thousands of refugees already approved for travel were blocked from entry after Executive Order 14163, “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” indefinitely paused refugee resettlement. Over 10,000 refugees in the process of coming to the U.S. from Afghanistan, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East are now barred from entry. Trump’s harsh policy towards refugees is unexpected—in 2020, the number of admitted refugees sank to an incredibly low 11,000, as compared to 100,000 under Biden in 2024. In line with his “America First” policy, President Trump holds that continuing to receive refugees would burden American communities, which are unequipped to absorb them. He did not, however, comment on how terminating the program would burden the refugees, who already live under acute threat.

Expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) powers

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, is notoriously responsible for the enforcement of immigration laws. Although it already has a considerable amount of monetary power—its annual budget is approximately $9 billion—ICE’s abilities have expanded substantially under the Trump Administration. ICE now has the power to deport migrants who temporarily entered the country under Biden-era programs and sidestep immigration courts to accelerate deportation by labeling undocumented immigration as an “alien invasion.” The past weeks have seen a flood of ICE raids and arrests, sometimes resulting in over 1,000 arrests per day. A new directive revealed that “sensitive areas,” such as schools and churches, can now be targeted by officials, and undocumented immigrants who happen to be present at the arrest of a criminal can be arrested as well. While some “sanctuary cities”—those that limit their cooperation with efforts to deport undocumented immigrants —are fighting against this development, the Justice Department has threatened to prosecute local and state officials who resist federal immigration crackdowns.

Declaration of a “national emergency” at the southern border.

Since 1978, there have been 83 national emergencies declared under the National Emergencies Act of 1976. The most recent of these is the Declaration of a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States, under the justification that the U.S. is being threatened by widespread crime. The statement permits President Trump to unlock billions of dollars without congressional approval, ones he will likely use for border wall construction and the deployment of the military and National Guard. Typically, the National Emergencies Act is invoked in times of acute stress, allowing the executive to respond quickly to sudden and exceptional cases. Immigration, however, is not sudden, nor is it exceptional. Instead, immigration is a phenomenon that has long occurred on the U.S.’ southern border, leading many to dub this declaration as a worrisome abuse of executive power. 

Deployment of troops to the southern border.

On January 20, the landscape of the U.S.’ southern border was drastically altered with the signing of two executive orders: Securing Our Borders and Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting The Territorial Integrity of the U.S. These orders authorized the deployment of personnel to the southern border with the goal of ensuring “complete operational control” and maintaining the “sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security” of the nation. Following the executive orders, the Department of Defense immediately sent 1,500 troops to the border, joining the stationed 2,500 troops and 18,000 Border Patrol members. While most troops will work in logistics and support tasks, deployment poses the potential for heightened issues at the border, as “military personnel are trained and equipped to destroy enemy forces, [...] regard[ing] civilians as a potential threat,” according to CSIS senior advisor Mark F. Cancian. The deployment of the military is an alarming reflection of Trump's militaristic goals and ruthless practices, both at the border and beyond.

Restarting “Remain in Mexico”

“Remain in Mexico,” a souvenir from Trump’s previous term, was ended by Biden in 2021 amidst concerns about abuses faced by migrants at the border. The program forces certain migrants to wait south of the border while their cases are processed. Requiring migrants to remain in Mexico during processing subjects them to the risk of kidnapping, extortion, rape and botched smuggling. At the border, migrants, including families and children, face pressure from drug cartels and often live in miserable conditions. In its first lifetime, Remain in Mexico saw some 70,000 migrants sent back across the border. How many more will suffer from its revival?

“We are witnessing the reinstatement of some of the most inhumane and harmful immigration policies the U.S. has imposed in recent years,” states Avril Benoit, Chief Executive Officer of Doctors Without Borders USA. The crisis at the U.S.’ southern border—which has been ongoing—will only worsen with Trump’s brutal crackdown on immigration. Even before his inauguration, the border was home to a host of abuses, including cruelty, victimization, family separations, falsifying paperwork and a range of health issues, from heat exhaustion to drowning.

The list of abuses faced at the border has not, and will not, deter Trump from pursuing his pillage at the border. His North Star is the “America First” doctrine, which outlines the aspirations of his border policy, justified by protecting American communities from strain and criminals. “America First” does not, however, mean “immigrants second,” nor third, fourth, or fifth. In reality, “America First” implies “everybody else last.” Highlighted in his endeavors from Panama to Gaza, Trump has made it clear that he will stop at nothing to “protect” Americans, even if this means abusing everybody else.

The Trump Administration’s new border policy is actively working to dehumanize migrants, whom he has openly referred to as “animals.” Instead of working to improve the U.S.’ immigration system to aid both migrants and the communities which take them in, the administration has focused on efforts to eject and criminalize migrants.

If the Trump Administration were, on the other hand, to center attention on reshaping and bettering the immigration system, both migrants and Americans would benefit greatly. Not only does immigration contribute to economic growth in the U.S., but migrants have permitted the U.S. to develop a diverse, multicultural social fabric. The U.S. flourishes thanks to immigration, a prosperity that is radically threatened by Trump’s new policies on the southern border. 

Photo credits: Alisdare Hickson, 2018