Trump will issue executive orders to remake immigration policies; legal, logistical questions remain

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is going to issue a series of orders aimed at remaking America’s immigration policies, ending asylum access, sending troops to the southern border and ending birthright citizenship, an incoming White House official said.

But it’s unclear how Trump would carry out some of his executive orders, including ending automatic citizenship for everyone born in the country, while others were expected to be immediately challenged in the courts.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview some of the orders expected later Monday.

Immigrant communities were bracing for the crackdown that Trump, a Republican, had been promising throughout his campaign and again at a rally Sunday just ahead of his inauguration.

The official previewed a sweeping update of what was to come as the Trump administration gears up to make due on a campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration and carry out mass deportations. The measures seemed designed to bolster border security including sending an undetermined amount of troops to the southern border.

One of the key announcements is the effort to end birthright citizenship — one of Trump’s most sweeping immigration efforts yet to redefine what it means to be American.

Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It’s been in place for over a century and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country. Trump's effort to end it is certain to face legal challenges.

Trump also intends to suspend refugee resettlement for four months, the official said. That's a program that for decades has allowed hundreds of thousands of people from around the world fleeing war and persecution to come to the United States.

Trump similarly suspended the refugee program at the beginning of his first term, and then after reinstating it, cut the numbers of refugees admitted into the country every year.