President Donald Trump is moving to tighten access to financial systems for non-citizens in the U.S. amid his Administration’s broader crackdown on immigration.
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order, titled “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System,” that would require banks to treat a customer’s immigration status as a factor in evaluating potential financial risk.
The new order directs the Treasury Secretary and federal financial regulators to issue guidance to banks on identifying customers whose profiles or transactions potentially indicate risks like money laundering, terrorism financing, and labor trafficking in line with the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act. Those changes are intended to “account for the risks foreign consular identification cards pose to the integrity of the United States financial system,” the order said.
The order describes “red flags and typologies” associated with suspicious activity. Among these are repetitive cash withdrawals, the use of shell companies to conceal true account ownership, and the use of certain platforms for “off-the-books” wage payments.
The “red flags” also include the use of an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN)—which anyone, regardless of immigration status, can obtain in order to file and pay taxes—instead of a social security number when opening an account or taking certain banking actions.
The move could make it more difficult for non-citizens, especially undocumented immigrants, to access financial services, even for legitimate reasons. The Administration has aggressively clamped down on both legal and illegal immigration in the U.S. It has detained and deported people en masse, including some with lawful immigration status; increased scrutiny for visa and citizenship applications; and restricted immigrants’ access to public services. Large-scale immigration raids have ignited protests across the country, which have ended in the killings of several Americans by federal agents.
The Treasury Department also announced in November plans to reclassify certain refundable tax credits as “federal public benefits,” restricting eligibility for some non-citizens who file taxes in the U.S.
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The order also directs the Treasury to consider regulatory changes under the Bank Secrecy Act that would enable financial institutions to more readily collect customer data, including immigration status and employment authorization.
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