Executive Order 13767
Executive Order 13767, issued by President Donald Trump on January 25, 2017, initiated the construction of a wall along the United States-Mexico border and established a framework for the enforcement of immigration policies. This order reflects the longstanding debate surrounding border security, which has become increasingly polarized over the years, with contrasting views from Democrats and Republicans. Proponents of the wall argue it is essential for national security and public safety, citing concerns over illegal immigration, human trafficking, and drug smuggling. Conversely, critics view it as a humanitarian issue and a mischaracterization of migrants.
The executive order drew upon previous legislation related to immigration and border security, such as the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Secure Fence Act of 2006. After its announcement, the Trump administration faced significant challenges securing funding, leading to a notable government shutdown in December 2018 when Congress could not reach an agreement. The order's implications and the subsequent funding battles highlight the contentious nature of immigration policy in the U.S. The complexities surrounding Executive Order 13767 illustrate the broader conversation about border security, national identity, and immigration reform in American society.
Executive Order 13767
Issued by President Donald Trump on January 25, 2017, Executive Order 13767 controversially authorized the construction of a wall along the United States-Mexico border. It also specified the Trump administration’s official policy regarding the security of the nation’s southern border, including provisions directing customs, immigration, and law enforcement personnel to detain and remove individuals found to have entered the United States illegally. Given its content, Executive Order 13767 is alternately known as “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements.”
Executive Order 13767 does not contain cost estimates for the construction of the wall, and the Trump administration subsequently encountered a great deal of resistance in attempting to secure funding from Congress for the project. The impasse reached a critical point in December 2018, when Trump’s demands for $5 billion in federal funds led to an extended government shutdown that was not resolved until the first quarter of 2019.
Background
The southern border has long posed a contentious issue for US federal lawmakers, with hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing it to gain unauthorized entry into the country each year. During the 1990s and 2000s, bipartisan support for building an effective physical barrier to secure the southern border was high. In 1996, President Bill Clinton (1946– ) stressed the importance of perimeter security in his State of the Union address. In 2006, during the second term of Republican President George W. Bush (1946– ), a majority of Democrat senators voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act, which called for the construction of a 700-mile fence along the United States-Mexico border.
However, by 2015, the question of the southern border had become a highly polarizing, largely partisan issue. By and large, Democrats viewed the immigration situation on the southern border as a humanitarian matter while Republicans led calls for strong security improvements and stricter enforcement of customs and immigration laws. According to aggregated survey data compiled from sources including FOX News, Gallup, and the Pew Research Center, by 2015, only 30 percent of Democrats supported the idea of building a wall to secure the southern border.
Trump made his promise to build the border wall a signature piece of his 2016 presidential campaign platform, controversially characterizing migrants crossing the southern border as “rapists” who are “bringing drugs” and “bringing crime” into the United States. His rhetoric deepened the growing partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans on the question of the border wall, and by 2017, Democrat support for the wall had plummeted to only 10 percent. After winning a congressional majority in the 2018 midterm elections, Democrat lawmakers were in a position to obstruct Trump’s efforts to secure budgetary funding to build the border wall.
Overview
Executive Order 13767 draws on legal precedents set by legislation including the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secure Fence Act of 2006, and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Its stated objectives are to “ensure the safety and territorial integrity of the United States” and to “ensure the Nation’s immigration laws are faithfully executed.” Section 1 of the order elaborates, noting that “aliens who illegally enter the United States without inspection or admission present a significant threat to national security and public safety.” It also notes sharp rises in the number of irregular border crossings from Mexico into the United States, straining federal financial and human resources and creating problems for border-adjacent American communities.
Section 2 of the order calls for the construction of a physical wall along the southern border, and adequate personnel to monitor it with the aim of disrupting and preventing human trafficking, drug trafficking, terrorism, and illegal immigration. It also notes that policy support for detaining individuals suspected of violating federal or state law, determining claimants’ immigration or asylum eligibility, and removing individuals whose immigration or asylum claims are rejected after due process. Additional sections provide definitions and further policy specifications, with noteworthy passages calling for the immediate construction of additional border detention facilities, hiring of more customs and immigration enforcement personnel, and nullification of loopholes in existing parole and asylum laws that allow “otherwise removable aliens” to remain in the United States.
Reaction to Executive Order 13767 was favorable among Republicans and Trump’s voter base but met with the widespread derision of Democrat politicians and pro-immigration humanitarian groups.
Trump’s demand for $5 billion in federal funding to build the wall required congressional approval, and after the Democrats won a House of Representatives majority in the 2018 midterm elections, the executive and legislative branches came to a contentious deadlock over the issue. Last-minute negotiations failed to strike a deal, and the federal government officially entered a shutdown at midnight Eastern time on December 22, 2018. The terms of the shutdown included furloughs on the pay of federal government employees, creating added urgency to reach a settlement.
On Friday, January 25, 2019, Trump signed a measure temporarily reopening the federal government for three weeks, ending what had become the longest government shutdown in US history. During the three-week period, lawmakers managed to negotiate a settlement on the budget stalemate that included $1.375 billion for border fencing. On February 15, 2019, Trump used his executive authority to declare the southern border a national emergency, opening a legal avenue for him to appropriate discretionary funds from other federal agencies to fund construction of the wall. Legislators made two attempts to nullify the state of emergency, but failed to garner the two-thirds majority required to do so. In September 2019, media outlets reported that construction of a new wall had begun in the Rio Grande Valley region between Texas and Mexico.
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