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[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
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