The Trump administration has added another tool to its immigration enforcement toolbox, and this one doesn’t involve handcuffs. It involves bank accounts.
According to a Fox News report [1], White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton show” and said the administration is pursuing a policy to “debank” illegal aliens, arguing that cutting off access to credit cards, loans and other financial services would encourage people in the country illegally to pack their bags and head home voluntarily. Miller called the effort a “massive engine for deportation.”
He explained that Trump had signed an executive order aimed at making it harder for illegal aliens to access banking services in the United States – with the hope that many will choose to leave the country on their own.
Miller was likely referring to Trump’s May 19 executive order directing banks and federal regulators to take a much closer look at accounts and credit applications involving immigrants without legal status or work authorization.
The order doesn’t flat-out tell banks to slam the vault door shut, but it does encourage more scrutiny that could make access to America’s financial system a lot harder.
Additionally, in early June, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reminded lenders that immigration status and work authorization aren’t just paperwork – they can be factors in deciding whether someone is likely to repay a loan. Miller also pointed to July 13 guidance from three federal banking regulators reminding financial institutions to follow “safe and sound” lending practices when extending credit to people who aren’t legally authorized to work in the United States. Translation: if you can’t legally hold a job here, don’t expect banks to pretend that’s not a risk.
And here’s the good news…federal agencies aren’t wasting any time – they’re already moving to carry out Trump’s directive.