President Trump's immigration executive orders are an assault on rule of law

In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump claimed that his immigration agenda seeks to protect the ‘Rule of Law’ in the United States. Just hours later, Donald Trump passed the first of numerous executive orders on immigration that undermine the very foundations of our country's democracy.

Immigration is not a new theme to a Trump presidency. His first term saw a slashing of refugee admissions numbers to record lows, a controversial ‘Muslim Ban’, and various attempts to end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and TPS (Temporary Protected Status), among other policies.

Trump's new Executive Orders, including an attempt to end birthright citizenship, declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border, canceling asylum appointments, and calling for the deployment of active duty military personnel to facilitate mass deportations, cannot be understood as mere attempts at immigration reform or national security. Rather, they must be seen for what they are: an assault on the rule of law in the United States.

Birthright citizenship is a key tenet of the United States Constitution, enshrined in the 14th amendment and upheld by an 1898 Supreme Court case. Trump’s attempt to unilaterally alter the definition of an American citizen (at present, blocked by a US District Court judge) displays a blatant disregard for the Constitution. Moreover, the president's intention to “end asylum” seeks to overturn a legal institution established by a bipartisan act of Congress, a power only Congress itself possesses. His indefinite suspension of refugee resettlement further threatens a system protected under both American law and the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which the United States remains party.

Striking hypocrisy

There is a striking hypocrisy at play here. On the same day that the Trump administration canceled asylum appointments, the Trump administration designated cartels and criminal gangs as terrorist organisations, an explicit acknowledgement of the severe persecution inflicted by organised crime across Central and South America. Yet, Trump’s policies are now blocking those fleeing this violence—perpetrated by the very groups our government has now deemed as ‘terrorist organisations’—from seeking refuge. In doing so, Trump endangers thousands of asylum seekers who face extortion, violence, kidnapping, rape, and murder by groups like MS-13 and the Tren De Aragua. Furthermore, these policies are likely illegal, flying in the face of the core international legal principle of non-refoulement.

Moreover, while claiming to value the rule of law, Trump appears to be punishing more than one million individuals who legally entered the United States under humanitarian parole programs. A recent memo from the Trump Administration to Immigration and Customs Enforcement now places those individuals at risk of summary deportation. These individuals--who were allowed to work and live legally for up to two years in the US under the Biden administration due to the mass human rights violations in their countries--will now be forced back into danger. If Trump’s goal is to encourage immigrants to follow the law when entering the United States, such a blatant betrayal is a terrible way to do it.

These precedents should worry all Americans.

This is not just about immigrants. In the first week of his term, Trump is using the issue of immigration to empower the military to act against civilian populations. By utilising military planes for deportations and deploying active-duty soldiers at the border, Trump violates long established US law which prohibits the military from enforcing domestic law. At the same time, his policies weaken guarantees of due process by vastly expanding the government's capacity to deport immigrants without a fair hearing. Just last week, ICE (immigration) authorities erroneously arrested a US citizen and military vet from Puerto Rico without a warrant during a workplace raid in Newark, New Jersey. These precedents should worry all Americans.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle agree that we must reform our immigration system to ensure that individuals arriving to our Southern Border follow legal procedures and receive an orderly, fair, and expeditious hearing on asylum claims. But Trump's unilateral and, in many cases, illegal executive orders are an affront to American ideals.

The vast majority of the 11 million individuals living in the United States without legal documentation, along with their millions of American citizen children and spouses, pay taxes, work hard, and abide by the laws of our country. Many came to America with the same dream as the president's own mother—an immigrant from a poor Scottish family who would raise a future president—and by the president's new right-hand man, Elon Musk—a South African immigrant who moved to America and became the world's richest man.

By undermining the rule of law, President Trump endangers the democratic foundations that have long made America a symbol of refuge and possibility.

Sophie is a Rhodes Scholar. She recently worked as a contractor for the US Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, consulting on issues of migration and gender violence. She also worked for Freedom House, Venezuela and as a pro-bono interpreter for asylum seekers.

Astrid is a Rhodes Scholar who focuses on refugee and forced migration policy in the Americas. She has worked with Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes Chile, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Welcome Corps, the International Rescue Committee, and Venezuelans & Immigrants Aid NYC.