Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion, 8333-8336 [2025-01951]
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 18 / Wednesday, January 29, 2025 / Presidential Documents
8333
Presidential Documents
Proclamation 10888 of January 20, 2025
Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, I hereby proclaim:
An essential feature of any sovereign nation is the existence of territorial
boundaries and the inherent authority to decide who and what may cross
those boundaries. The Supreme Court of the United States has described
this power as a ‘‘fundamental act of sovereignty,’’ which ‘‘stems not alone
from legislative power but is inherent in the executive power to control
the foreign affairs of the nation.’’ U.S. ex rel. Knauff v. Shaughnessy, 338
U.S. 537, 542 (1950). The Supreme Court has recognized the inherent right
and duty of the Executive Branch to defend our national sovereignty, stating
that ‘‘[w]hen Congress prescribes a procedure concerning the admissibility
of aliens, it is not dealing alone with a legislative power. It is implementing
an inherent executive power.’’ Id.
The Congress has, in establishing ‘‘an uniform Rule of Naturalization,’’ created a complex and comprehensive Federal scheme in the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., to control the entry and exit
of people and goods across the borders of the United States. In routine
circumstances, this complex and comprehensive scheme can protect the
national sovereignty of the United States by facilitating the admission of
individuals whose presence serves the national interest and preventing the
admission of those who do not, such as those aliens who pose threats
to public health, section 212(a)(1) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1); safety,
section 212(a)(2) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)); and national security, section 212(a)(3)
(8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)). Prospective immigrants who use the visa system are
screened for such health, safety, and security concerns while outside of
the United States, and are not permitted to enter the United States until
they establish that they are eligible to be admitted as a matter of law
and should be admitted as a matter of discretion.
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with PRESDOC3
But screening under those provisions of the INA can be wholly ineffective
in the border environment, where access to necessary information is limited
for aliens who have traveled from countries around the world to enter
the United States illegally, or when the system is overwhelmed, leading
to the unauthorized entry of innumerable illegal aliens into the United
States.
Due to significant information gaps—particularly in the border environment—
and processing times, Federal officials do not have the ability to verify
with certainty the criminal record or national-security risks associated with
the illegal entry of every alien at the southern border, as required by section
212(a)(2)–(3) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)–(3). Nor do aliens who illegally
cross the southern border readily provide comprehensive background information from their home countries to Federal law enforcement officials.
The public safety and national security risks in such an environment are
heightened by the presence of, and control of territory by, international
cartels and other transnational criminal organizations on the other side
of the southern border, as well as terrorists and other malign actors who
intend to harm the United States and the American people. And the risks
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 18 / Wednesday, January 29, 2025 / Presidential Documents
associated with these issues are greatly exacerbated when the number of
aliens illegally crossing the southern border increases to levels that prevent
actual operational control of the border.
The same is true for public health, where the Federal Government currently
lacks an effective operational capability to screen all illegal aliens crossing
the southern border for communicable diseases of public-health concern,
as required by section 212(a)(1) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1). Effectively
no aliens who illegally enter the United States provide Federal officials
at the southern border with their comprehensive health information, as
a lawful immigrant would. As a result, innumerable aliens potentially carrying communicable diseases of public health significance illegally cross
the southern border and enter communities across the United States.
Over the last 4 years, at least 8 million illegal aliens were encountered
along the southern border of the United States, and countless millions more
evaded detection and illegally entered the United States. The sheer number
of aliens entering the United States has overwhelmed the system and rendered many of the INA’s provisions ineffective, including those previously
described that are intended to prevent aliens posing threats to public health,
safety, and national security from entering the United States. As a result,
millions of aliens who potentially pose significant threats to health, safety,
and national security have moved into communities nationwide.
This ongoing influx of illegal aliens across the southern border of the United
States has placed significant costs and constraints upon the States, which
have collectively spent billions of dollars in providing medical care and
related human services, and have spent considerable amounts on increased
law enforcement costs associated with the presence of these illegal aliens
within their boundaries.
In joining the Union, the States agreed to surrender much of their sovereignty
and join the Union in exchange for the Federal Government’s promise in
Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, to ‘‘protect each of [the
States] against Invasion.’’ I have determined that the current state of the
southern border reveals that the Federal Government has failed in fulfilling
this obligation to the States and hereby declare that an invasion is ongoing
at the southern border, which requires the Federal Government to take
measures to fulfill its obligation to the States.
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with PRESDOC3
The INA provides the President with certain emergency tools. For example,
it states that ‘‘[w]henever the President finds that the entry of any aliens
or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to
the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such
period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any
class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry
of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.’’ 8 U.S.C. 1182(f).
This statute ‘‘exudes deference to the President in every clause.’’ Trump
v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667, 684 (2018). Further, the INA renders it unlawful
for ‘‘any alien to depart from or enter or attempt to depart from or enter
the United States except under such reasonable rules, regulations, and orders,
and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may prescribe.’’ 8 U.S.C. 1185(a)(1).
Historically, Presidents have used these statutory authorities to deny entry
of designated classes and categories of aliens into the United States through
ports of entry. But if the President has the power to deny entry of any
alien into the United States, and to impose any restrictions as he may
deem appropriate, this authority necessarily includes the right to deny the
physical entry of aliens into the United States and impose restrictions on
access to portions of the immigration system, particularly when the number
of aliens illegally crossing the southern border prevents the Federal Government from obtaining operational control of the border.
The INA does not, however, occupy the Federal Government’s field of authority to protect the sovereignty of the United States, particularly in times
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 18 / Wednesday, January 29, 2025 / Presidential Documents
8335
of emergency when entire provisions of the INA are rendered ineffective
by operational constraints, such as when there is an ongoing invasion into
the States. The President’s inherent powers to control the borders of the
United States, including those deriving from his authority to control the
foreign affairs of the United States, necessarily include the ability to prevent
the physical entry of aliens involved in an invasion into the United States,
and to rapidly repatriate them to an alternative location. Only through
such measures can the President guarantee the right of each State to be
protected against invasion.
By the power vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States, I have determined that the current situation at the southern border
qualifies as an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution
of the United States. Accordingly, I am issuing this Proclamation based
on my express and inherent powers in Article II of the Constitution of
the United States, and in faithful execution of the immigration laws passed
by the Congress, and suspending the physical entry of aliens involved in
an invasion into the United States across the southern border until I determine that the invasion has concluded.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States
of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, including sections 212(f) and 215(a)
of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of title 3, United
States Code, hereby direct as follows:
Section 1. Suspension of Entry. I hereby proclaim, pursuant to sections
212(f) and 215(a) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), that the entry
into the United States on or after the date of this order of aliens engaged
in the invasion across the southern border is detrimental to the interests
of the United States. I therefore direct that entry into the United States
of such aliens be suspended until I issue a finding that the invasion at
the southern border has ceased.
Sec. 2. Imposition of Restrictions on Entry for Aliens Invading the United
States. I hereby proclaim, pursuant to sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the
INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), that aliens engaged in the invasion
across the southern border of the United States on or after the date of
this proclamation are restricted from invoking provisions of the INA that
would permit their continued presence in the United States, including,
but not limited to, section 208 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1158, until I issue
a finding that the invasion at the southern border has ceased.
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with PRESDOC3
Sec. 3. Suspension of and Restriction on Entry for Aliens Posing Public
Health, Safety, or National Security Risks. I hereby proclaim, pursuant to
sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), that
the entry into the United States, on or after the date of this order, of
any alien who fails, before entering the United States, to provide Federal
officials with sufficient medical information and reliable criminal history
and background information as to enable fulfillment of the requirements
of sections 212(a)(1)–(3) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1)–(3), is detrimental
to the interests of the United States. I therefore direct that entry into the
United States of such aliens be suspended and restrict their access to provisions of the INA that would permit their continued presence in the United
States, including, but not limited to, section 208 of the INA, 8 U.S.C.
1158.
Sec. 4. Constitutional Suspension of Physical Entry. Under the authorities
provided to me under Article II of the Constitution of the United States,
including my control over foreign affairs, and to effectuate the guarantee
of protection against invasion required by Article IV, Section 4, I hereby
suspend the physical entry of any alien engaged in the invasion across
the southern border of the United States, and direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Attorney
General, to take appropriate actions as may be necessary to achieve the
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 18 / Wednesday, January 29, 2025 / Presidential Documents
objectives of this proclamation, until I issue a finding that the invasion
at the southern border has ceased.
Sec. 5. Operational Actions to Repel the Invasion. The Secretary of Homeland
Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, shall take all appropriate action to repel, repatriate, or remove any
alien engaged in the invasion across the southern border of the United
States on or after the date of this order, whether as an exercise of the
suspension power in section 212(f) and 215(a) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f)
and 1185(a), or as an exercise of my delegated authority under the Constitution of the United States, until I issue a finding that the invasion at the
southern border has ceased.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed
to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency,
or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This proclamation shall be implemented consistent with applicable
law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any right
or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by
any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities,
its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day
of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortyninth.
[FR Doc. 2025–01951
Filed 1–28–25; 8:45 am]
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Billing code 3395–F4–P
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 29, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8333-8336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01951]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 18 / Wednesday, January 29, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 8333]]
Proclamation 10888 of January 20, 2025
Guaranteeing the States Protection Against
Invasion
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, I hereby proclaim:
An essential feature of any sovereign nation is the
existence of territorial boundaries and the inherent
authority to decide who and what may cross those
boundaries. The Supreme Court of the United States has
described this power as a ``fundamental act of
sovereignty,'' which ``stems not alone from legislative
power but is inherent in the executive power to control
the foreign affairs of the nation.'' U.S. ex rel.
Knauff v. Shaughnessy, 338 U.S. 537, 542 (1950). The
Supreme Court has recognized the inherent right and
duty of the Executive Branch to defend our national
sovereignty, stating that ``[w]hen Congress prescribes
a procedure concerning the admissibility of aliens, it
is not dealing alone with a legislative power. It is
implementing an inherent executive power.'' Id.
The Congress has, in establishing ``an uniform Rule of
Naturalization,'' created a complex and comprehensive
Federal scheme in the Immigration and Nationality Act
(INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., to control the entry and
exit of people and goods across the borders of the
United States. In routine circumstances, this complex
and comprehensive scheme can protect the national
sovereignty of the United States by facilitating the
admission of individuals whose presence serves the
national interest and preventing the admission of those
who do not, such as those aliens who pose threats to
public health, section 212(a)(1) of the INA, 8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(1); safety, section 212(a)(2) (8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(2)); and national security, section 212(a)(3)
(8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)). Prospective immigrants who use
the visa system are screened for such health, safety,
and security concerns while outside of the United
States, and are not permitted to enter the United
States until they establish that they are eligible to
be admitted as a matter of law and should be admitted
as a matter of discretion.
But screening under those provisions of the INA can be
wholly ineffective in the border environment, where
access to necessary information is limited for aliens
who have traveled from countries around the world to
enter the United States illegally, or when the system
is overwhelmed, leading to the unauthorized entry of
innumerable illegal aliens into the United States.
Due to significant information gaps--particularly in
the border environment--and processing times, Federal
officials do not have the ability to verify with
certainty the criminal record or national-security
risks associated with the illegal entry of every alien
at the southern border, as required by section
212(a)(2)-(3) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)-(3). Nor
do aliens who illegally cross the southern border
readily provide comprehensive background information
from their home countries to Federal law enforcement
officials.
The public safety and national security risks in such
an environment are heightened by the presence of, and
control of territory by, international cartels and
other transnational criminal organizations on the other
side of the southern border, as well as terrorists and
other malign actors who intend to harm the United
States and the American people. And the risks
[[Page 8334]]
associated with these issues are greatly exacerbated
when the number of aliens illegally crossing the
southern border increases to levels that prevent actual
operational control of the border.
The same is true for public health, where the Federal
Government currently lacks an effective operational
capability to screen all illegal aliens crossing the
southern border for communicable diseases of public-
health concern, as required by section 212(a)(1) of the
INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1). Effectively no aliens who
illegally enter the United States provide Federal
officials at the southern border with their
comprehensive health information, as a lawful immigrant
would. As a result, innumerable aliens potentially
carrying communicable diseases of public health
significance illegally cross the southern border and
enter communities across the United States.
Over the last 4 years, at least 8 million illegal
aliens were encountered along the southern border of
the United States, and countless millions more evaded
detection and illegally entered the United States. The
sheer number of aliens entering the United States has
overwhelmed the system and rendered many of the INA's
provisions ineffective, including those previously
described that are intended to prevent aliens posing
threats to public health, safety, and national security
from entering the United States. As a result, millions
of aliens who potentially pose significant threats to
health, safety, and national security have moved into
communities nationwide.
This ongoing influx of illegal aliens across the
southern border of the United States has placed
significant costs and constraints upon the States,
which have collectively spent billions of dollars in
providing medical care and related human services, and
have spent considerable amounts on increased law
enforcement costs associated with the presence of these
illegal aliens within their boundaries.
In joining the Union, the States agreed to surrender
much of their sovereignty and join the Union in
exchange for the Federal Government's promise in
Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, to
``protect each of [the States] against Invasion.'' I
have determined that the current state of the southern
border reveals that the Federal Government has failed
in fulfilling this obligation to the States and hereby
declare that an invasion is ongoing at the southern
border, which requires the Federal Government to take
measures to fulfill its obligation to the States.
The INA provides the President with certain emergency
tools. For example, it states that ``[w]henever the
President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any
class of aliens into the United States would be
detrimental to the interests of the United States, he
may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall
deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any
class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or
impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may
deem to be appropriate.'' 8 U.S.C. 1182(f). This
statute ``exudes deference to the President in every
clause.'' Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667, 684 (2018).
Further, the INA renders it unlawful for ``any alien to
depart from or enter or attempt to depart from or enter
the United States except under such reasonable rules,
regulations, and orders, and subject to such
limitations and exceptions as the President may
prescribe.'' 8 U.S.C. 1185(a)(1).
Historically, Presidents have used these statutory
authorities to deny entry of designated classes and
categories of aliens into the United States through
ports of entry. But if the President has the power to
deny entry of any alien into the United States, and to
impose any restrictions as he may deem appropriate,
this authority necessarily includes the right to deny
the physical entry of aliens into the United States and
impose restrictions on access to portions of the
immigration system, particularly when the number of
aliens illegally crossing the southern border prevents
the Federal Government from obtaining operational
control of the border.
The INA does not, however, occupy the Federal
Government's field of authority to protect the
sovereignty of the United States, particularly in times
[[Page 8335]]
of emergency when entire provisions of the INA are
rendered ineffective by operational constraints, such
as when there is an ongoing invasion into the States.
The President's inherent powers to control the borders
of the United States, including those deriving from his
authority to control the foreign affairs of the United
States, necessarily include the ability to prevent the
physical entry of aliens involved in an invasion into
the United States, and to rapidly repatriate them to an
alternative location. Only through such measures can
the President guarantee the right of each State to be
protected against invasion.
By the power vested in me by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States, I have determined that the
current situation at the southern border qualifies as
an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the
Constitution of the United States. Accordingly, I am
issuing this Proclamation based on my express and
inherent powers in Article II of the Constitution of
the United States, and in faithful execution of the
immigration laws passed by the Congress, and suspending
the physical entry of aliens involved in an invasion
into the United States across the southern border until
I determine that the invasion has concluded.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the
United States of America, by the authority vested in me
by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America, including sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the
INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of
title 3, United States Code, hereby direct as follows:
Section 1. Suspension of Entry. I hereby proclaim,
pursuant to sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the INA, 8
U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), that the entry into the
United States on or after the date of this order of
aliens engaged in the invasion across the southern
border is detrimental to the interests of the United
States. I therefore direct that entry into the United
States of such aliens be suspended until I issue a
finding that the invasion at the southern border has
ceased.
Sec. 2. Imposition of Restrictions on Entry for Aliens
Invading the United States. I hereby proclaim, pursuant
to sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the INA, 8 U.S.C.
1182(f) and 1185(a), that aliens engaged in the
invasion across the southern border of the United
States on or after the date of this proclamation are
restricted from invoking provisions of the INA that
would permit their continued presence in the United
States, including, but not limited to, section 208 of
the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1158, until I issue a finding that
the invasion at the southern border has ceased.
Sec. 3. Suspension of and Restriction on Entry for
Aliens Posing Public Health, Safety, or National
Security Risks. I hereby proclaim, pursuant to sections
212(f) and 215(a) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and
1185(a), that the entry into the United States, on or
after the date of this order, of any alien who fails,
before entering the United States, to provide Federal
officials with sufficient medical information and
reliable criminal history and background information as
to enable fulfillment of the requirements of sections
212(a)(1)-(3) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1)-(3), is
detrimental to the interests of the United States. I
therefore direct that entry into the United States of
such aliens be suspended and restrict their access to
provisions of the INA that would permit their continued
presence in the United States, including, but not
limited to, section 208 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1158.
Sec. 4. Constitutional Suspension of Physical Entry.
Under the authorities provided to me under Article II
of the Constitution of the United States, including my
control over foreign affairs, and to effectuate the
guarantee of protection against invasion required by
Article IV, Section 4, I hereby suspend the physical
entry of any alien engaged in the invasion across the
southern border of the United States, and direct the
Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with
the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, to
take appropriate actions as may be necessary to achieve
the
[[Page 8336]]
objectives of this proclamation, until I issue a
finding that the invasion at the southern border has
ceased.
Sec. 5. Operational Actions to Repel the Invasion. The
Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with
the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, shall
take all appropriate action to repel, repatriate, or
remove any alien engaged in the invasion across the
southern border of the United States on or after the
date of this order, whether as an exercise of the
suspension power in section 212(f) and 215(a) of the
INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), or as an exercise of
my delegated authority under the Constitution of the
United States, until I issue a finding that the
invasion at the southern border has ceased.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
proclamation shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This proclamation shall be implemented
consistent with applicable law and subject to the
availability of appropriations.
(c) This proclamation is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
ninth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2025-01951
Filed 1-28-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P