Much of U.S. immigration policy since January 20, 2025 has been made by presidential order rather than by statute or regulation. This index lists the principal executive orders and proclamations with their Federal Register citations, what each directs, and, where there is one, the main court ruling. Each entry links to the official text.
Quick Facts
- Where they are published: the Federal Register (44 U.S.C. § 1505)
- Executive orders direct federal agencies; they cannot override a statute
- Proclamations under § 212(f) suspend or restrict the entry of classes of noncitizens
- Status column: as of this page’s last review
Executive orders versus proclamations
An executive order is a directive from the President to the executive branch. A proclamation is a formal statement that, in immigration, is most often issued under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which lets the President “suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens” whose entry would be detrimental to the interests of the United States (8 U.S.C. § 1182(f)). Neither can change a statute. Both can be challenged in court, and several listed here have been. Agencies also make policy on their own through memoranda and cables, and some of the most litigated 2026 measures were of that kind: see the note at the end.
Executive orders
| Order | What it directs | Area | Court status |
|---|---|---|---|
| EO 14159 Jan 20, 2025 90 FR 8443 | Protecting the American People Against Invasion Sets civil and criminal enforcement priorities; directs enforcement of the alien registration requirement, civil fines, broader use of expedited removal and 287(g) agreements with state and local police, visa bonds, and measures against sanctuary jurisdictions. | Interior enforcement | — |
| EO 14160 Jan 20, 2025 90 FR 8449 | Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship Denies citizenship documents to children born in the United States to mothers unlawfully or temporarily present when the father is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident. | Citizenship | Held unconstitutional: Trump v. Barbara (June 30, 2026). See the birthright citizenship order. |
| EO 14161 Jan 20, 2025 90 FR 8451 | Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats Orders enhanced vetting of visa applicants and a review of countries whose screening information is deficient, the groundwork for the 2025 travel bans. | Entry and vetting | — |
| EO 14163 Jan 20, 2025 90 FR 8459 | Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program Suspends entry under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, subject to case-by-case exceptions. | Refugees | Challenged in court. |
| EO 14165 Jan 20, 2025 90 FR 8467 | Securing Our Borders Directs border-wall construction, detention of people apprehended at the border and the resumption of the “Remain in Mexico” program. | Border | — |
| EO 14218 Feb 19, 2025 90 FR 10581 | Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders Directs agencies to ensure that federally funded benefits do not go to people unlawfully present, as federal law already restricts. | Public benefits | — |
| EO 14287 Apr 28, 2025 90 FR 18761 | Protecting American Communities From Criminal Aliens Directs publication of a list of sanctuary jurisdictions and support for state and local law enforcement. | Interior enforcement | — |
| EO 14351 Sept 19, 2025 90 FR 46031 | The Gold Card Creates a “Gold Card” program: a million gift to the Department of Commerce ( million from a company) is treated as evidence of eligibility in EB-1, EB-2 and national-interest-waiver cases. | Immigrant visas | — |
| EO 14418 Aug 6, 2026 91 FR 51991 | Continuing To Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship Issued after Barbara: lists categories the administration treats as outside birthright citizenship, including children of foreign officials and of members of designated terrorist groups, and births arranged through a commercial transaction. | Citizenship | New; see the birthright citizenship order. |
| EO 14431 Sept 18, 2026 91 FR 60501 | Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program Directs State, Labor and DHS to weigh an H-1B employer’s recent or planned layoffs of similar U.S. workers, and the Wage and Hour Division to review past Labor Condition Applications. | Work visas | New. |
Proclamations
| Proclamation | What it directs | Area | Court status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proc. 10886 Jan 20, 2025 90 FR 8327 | Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States Declares a national emergency at the southern border. | Border | — |
| Proc. 10888 Jan 20, 2025 90 FR 8333 | Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion Invokes INA § 212(f) to suspend physical entry across the southern border and restrict access to asylum for those crossing. | Border and asylum | Challenged in court. |
| Proc. 10903 Mar 14, 2025 90 FR 13033 | Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua Invokes the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against alleged members of Tren de Aragua. | Removal | Challenges must be brought in habeas in the district of confinement, with notice (Trump v. J.G.G., Apr. 7, 2025); a Fifth Circuit panel ruled against the invocation and the full court reheard the case. |
| Proc. 10949 Jun 4, 2025 90 FR 24497 | Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats First 2025 travel ban: full suspension for nationals of 12 countries and partial suspension for 7, effective June 9, 2025. | Entry restrictions | Superseded in part by Proclamation 10998. |
| Proc. 10973 Sept 19, 2025 90 FR 46027 | Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers Restricts entry of H-1B workers unless the petition is accompanied by a 00,000 payment, with narrow exceptions; effective Sept. 21, 2025. | Work visas | Extended by Proclamation 11069. |
| Proc. 10998 Dec 16, 2025 90 FR 59717 | Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the Security of the United States Expanded travel ban from January 1, 2026: full suspension for 19 countries and Palestinian Authority documents, partial for 20 more, and narrower exceptions for family immigrant visas. | Entry restrictions | In effect. See entry bans under § 212(f). |
| Proc. 11069 Sept 18, 2026 91 FR 60497 | Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers Extends the 00,000 H-1B restriction of Proclamation 10973 until September 21, 2027. | Work visas | New. |
Not an order, but just as consequential
Two 2026 measures that shaped visa processing were agency directives, not presidential orders. On January 14, 2026, the State Department instructed consular officers to refuse, from January 21, immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries while it reassessed public-charge procedures; a federal court in New York vacated that policy on August 21, 2026 (CLINIC v. Rubio). In December 2025, USCIS and the State Department paused diversity-visa cases; a federal court in the District of Columbia held those pauses unlawful as to the plaintiffs before it (Ivanov v. Trump, No. 26-cv-915 (D.D.C. Aug. 25, 2026)). See Vacatur: the Order That Sets a Rule Aside.
Sources
- The Federal Register texts linked in each row
- 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f); 44 U.S.C. § 1505
- Trump v. Barbara, No. 25-365 (June 30, 2026); Trump v. J.G.G., No. 24A931 (Apr. 7, 2025)
- Ivanov v. Trump (D.D.C. Aug. 25, 2026); CLINIC v. Rubio (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 21, 2026)