by Mica Rosenberg, and Perla Trevizo, design by Zisiga Mukulu

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President Donald Trump promised a radical reset on immigration, and he didn’t waste any time getting started. Just hours after being sworn in on Jan. 20, he was seated in the Oval Office with a black permanent marker and a stack of leather-bound executive orders. By the end of Day 1, he’d revived many of the same programs and policies he’d previously carried out over four years during his first administration.

There were 10 orders related to immigration in all. And within them lay dozens of policy changes that, if implemented, would upend the immigration system and the lives of millions.

The blitz of executive order signing has continued, so fast and sweeping that it’s been hard to keep up, much less gauge its potential future impact. Trump has paused the resettlement of tens of thousands of refugees who’d already been vetted and approved to relocate to the United States, including as many as 15,000 Afghans. He ended humanitarian parole for immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua leaving more than 500,000 already living here in legal limbo. He launched his promised effort to round up and remove millions of unauthorized immigrants starting with those accused of violent crimes, though less than half of the approximately 8,200 people arrested from Jan. 20 through Feb. 2 so far have criminal convictions, according to government data obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

Taken individually, many of the measures could be considered controversial, said Andrew Selee, president of the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, but by the time experts get their mind around one new initiative, they learn there’s been another. “It’s really hard for outside organizations, politicians or the public in general to focus on any one of them,” he said.

In the meantime, some pushback has begun. Two federal judges swiftly blocked an order seeking to end birthright citizenship, calling it unconstitutional, while about a dozen other lawsuits have been filed by civil rights groups, religious organizations and states. Advocates sued this week to reverse an order that declared migrants were invading the country and that authorized the president to use extraordinary powers to stop them. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

In order to provide a glimpse of the enormity of the changes that are underway, ProPublica and the Tribune identified nearly three dozen of the most impactful policy changes set in motion by the orders signed on the first day. Most were pulled from the playbook of Trump’s previous presidency. Others are unprecedented.

Some of the measures in the executive orders revived policies from Trump’s first administration, including several blocked in court or rescinded following national outcry. Others are expansions of practices that have been carried out by various administrations, both Republican and Democratic.

1. Declare a national emergency at the border

Invokes special presidential powers that allow Trump, among other things, to circumvent Congress to unlock federal funding to build additional border barriers, as well as to deploy the military as needed.

HISTORY

Trump was the first president to declare a national emergency in relation to the border in 2019 to tap into funding to build border barriers after Congress stymied his efforts. The order was legally challenged, and President Joe Biden rescinded it upon taking office.

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2. Halt refugee admissions

Temporarily suspends refugee admissions into the United States.

HISTORY

Trump initially paused the refugee resettlement program when he first took office in 2017. He then capped the number of refugees allowed into the country at 18,000, the lowest number in the more than 40-year history of the program.

WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE

Thousands of refugees who already had their travel booked saw their plans canceled. Trump also suspended federal funding to all groups who assist refugees already in the United States, including helping them with housing, finding work and other needs.

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3. End “catch and release”

Seeks to end the practice of releasing some immigrants from detention while they await immigration court proceedings.

HISTORY

For years, federal officials under Republicans and Democrats have released certain immigrants they can’t detain, either because of capacity or health or humanitarian concerns. During his first term, Trump ordered an end to “catch and release” practices. But, as did his predecessors, the president had to release tens of thousands of family members and unaccompanied minors because of judges' rulings and laws that ban prolonged detentions for minors, as well as a lack of family detention space.

WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the agency is detaining everyone who crosses the border and holding them until they can be processed or transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

SOURCE

4. Make asylum seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. hearings

Orders most non-Mexican immigrants and asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as their cases go through the U.S. immigration court system.

HISTORY

Trump first launched the policy known as the Migration Protection Protocols in 2019 to deter unauthorized crossings. Under the program, the administration returned about 70,000 people to Mexico. Biden sought to end the policy when he first took office, saying it was dangerous and inhumane. A federal judge ordered the Biden administration to restart it, resulting in around 15,000 more immigrants to be placed in the program until the judge's order was eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Jan. 21 that it was immediately restarting the practice, but it’s unclear how it would be applied since other Trump orders have suspended asylum at the border.

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5. Promotes third-country asylum agreements

Allows the U.S. government to reach agreements with other governments to send back immigrants to places other than their home countries where they can seek asylum.

HISTORY

While Trump reached what they called Asylum Cooperative Agreements with El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala during his first term, only the Guatemalan policy went into effect, with 945 asylum seekers being transferred to the Central American country over a year.

WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE

Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, reached an agreement with El Salvador that would allow the U.S. to send deported immigrants from other countries to the Central American nation.

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6. DNA testing of some immigrants

Requires the DNA testing of some unauthorized immigrants and asylum seekers, in particular families.

HISTORY

During his first term, Trump required that the Department of Homeland Security collect DNA samples from immigrant families, which was later expanded to include others in its custody. The Biden administration revoked the DNA testing contract in 2023.

SOURCE

7. Expanding who is targeted for deportation

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