CED Newsletters & Policy Alerts

Action: Proclamation “Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion” 

What it does: The Proclamation outlines concerns about the number of individuals illegally entering the US at the southern border and notes that Federal officials often do not have the ability to verify with certainty the criminal record, national-security, or public health risks associated with such individuals. The Proclamation characterizes the present situation as an “invasion” and suspends entry for “aliens engaged in the invasion.” It also suspends entry for individuals who might otherwise have been eligible to enter the US under an asylum program and those who cannot provide sufficient medical and background information.   

Key Insights 

• The Proclamation is consistent with a variety of other steps the President has taken in his first week aimed at reducing both legal and illegal immigration into the US. Normally, a proclamation (other than if for a purpose defined under statute such as a proclamation on tariffs) is hortatory.  

• However, in connection with a national emergency, proclamations may have greater force, though this theory would likely be tested in court. The President also issued an Executive Order declaring a national emergency at the Southern border. 

• The scope of the Proclamation’s ban on entry is unclear since it does not establish a methodology for determining whether an individual is part of the “invasion,” though it does suggest that it provides a ground for including anyone who entered the US illegally in its terms. 

• The suspension of asylum claims suggests the Administration intends for the Proclamation to apply to some degree to both illegal and certain legal channels for immigration.  

• Implementation of the Proclamation will be shaped by additional guidance as well as the results of litigation challenging its provisions. For example, similar efforts restricting asylum claims in the first Trump Administration and in the Biden Administration faced legal challenges.