Miami, United States. – The president of the United States, Donald Trump, signed this February 19 An executive order with the objective of restricting the access of undocumented immigrants to programs financed with federal funds. According to the White House, the measure seeks to prevent fiscal resources used to “encourage or support illegal immigration.”
The order instructs federal departments and agencies to identify all programs that currently grant financial benefits to immigrants in an irregular situation and take “corrective actions” to eliminate them. It also establishes that federal funds for states and locations may not be used to support “sanctuary” policies or to attend immigrants without legal status in the country.
In addition, the provision contemplates the strengthening of eligibility verification mechanisms to prevent people without legal documentation from receiving benefits.
The Trump government argued that irregular immigration has exerted strong pressure on state and local budgets, and that the measure seeks to protect the economic interests of US taxpayers. “With this executive order, President Trump ensures that fiscal resources are used to protect the interests of US citizens, not illegal immigrants,” says the White House.
According to figures cited in the document, the cost of granting benefits to one million undocumented immigrants could represent an additional load of 3,000 million dollars annually for taxpayers. The White House also cited a report from the National Security Committee of the House of Representatives, which estimates that since January 2021 the US taxpayers have spent up to 451 billion dollars in the care of immigrants in an irregular situation.
According to the Federation for the Reform of American Immigration (Fair), the presence of approximately 20 million undocumented immigrants and their children in the US. It generates an expense of at least 182,000 million dollars annually , of which 66,500 million correspond to federal expenses and 115.6 billion at costs assumed by local states and governments.
The report also indicates that the administration of Joe Biden allocated more than 1 billion dollars to undocumented immigrants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in addition to allocating billions to organizations to organizations that They facilitated irregular immigration and provided legal assistance to challenge deportation orders.
Additional measures in Trump’s immigration policy
In parallel to this executive order, the Trump government has implemented a series of measures to harden immigration policy and reinforce border security. Among the outstanding actions by the White House are:
- National emergency declaration on the southern border.
- Resumption of the construction of the border wall.
- Deployment of military personnel, including the National Guard.
- Suspension of the entry of foreigners to the country.
- Return of migrant protection protocols (“stay in Mexico”).
- Elimination of programs parole as for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
- End of application use CBP One To process immigration requests.
- Revocation of Biden executive orders that facilitated the arrival of immigrants.
- Pause of the US refugee admission program (USRAP).
- Detention and transfer of undocumented “dangerous” criminals to the base of Guantanamo.
The executive order signed by Trump marks one of the most forceful decisions of its administration in immigration matters. The measure already generates reactions inside and outside the country, in a context of growing debate on immigration in the United States.
