Trump Targets Banking Access in Immigration Push

The Trump administration is turning to the nation’s financial system as another tool in its immigration crackdown, directing banks and regulators to increase scrutiny of accounts, loans and credit involving immigrants who are not legally authorized to work in the United States.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Treasury Department and federal banking regulators to strengthen customer identification and due-diligence requirements and address what the administration calls financial and credit risks involving the “inadmissible and removable alien population.”

The order calls for closer examination of suspicious activity involving payroll tax evasion, off-the-books wages, identity documents and the use of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers to obtain credit or open accounts without verified legal status. It also directs regulators to consider a borrower’s potential deportation or loss of employment when evaluating ability to repay loans.

Federal regulators have since advised banks and credit unions that borrowers without work authorization may present increased credit risks because their employment, income and ability to repay could be disrupted.

Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has described the initiative more broadly as part of the administration’s strategy to encourage immigrants in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.

“Illegal aliens have credit cards, they have bank accounts and they’re paid with direct deposit,” Miller said. “Shutting that down is a massive engine for deportation.”

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has also instructed financial institutions to watch for illicit financial activity connected to unauthorized employment, including identity theft, payroll schemes and money potentially flowing to criminal organizations.

The executive order itself does not impose an across-the-board ban on bank accounts for people without legal status. Instead, it directs regulators and financial institutions to strengthen scrutiny and consider immigration and work-authorization issues when warranted by financial or credit risks.