Executive Order No. 13767. Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements

• Executive Order No.: 13767
• Published date: 30 January 2017
• Citation: 82 FR 8793
• Date: 25 January 2017
• Section: Presidential Documents
• Issuer: Executive Office of the President

Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 18 / Monday, January 30, 2017 / Presidential Documents 
8793 
Presidential Documents
Executive Order 13767 of January 25, 2017 
Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements 
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 
laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) (INA), the Secure Fence Act of 2006 
(Public Law 109–367) (Secure Fence Act), and the Illegal Immigration Reform 
and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–208 Div. C) 
(IIRIRA), and in order to ensure the safety and territorial integrity of the 
United States as well as to ensure that the Nation’s immigration laws are 
faithfully executed, I hereby order as follows: 
Section 1.  Purpose.  Border security is critically important to the national 
security of the United States. Aliens who illegally enter the United States 
without inspection or admission present a significant threat to national 
security and public safety. Such aliens have not been identified or inspected 
by Federal immigration officers to determine their admissibility to the United 
States. The recent surge of illegal immigration at the southern border with 
Mexico has placed a significant strain on Federal resources and overwhelmed 
agencies charged with border security and immigration enforcement, as well 
as the local communities into which many of the aliens are placed. 
Transnational criminal organizations operate sophisticated drug- and human- 
trafficking networks and smuggling operations on both sides of the southern 
border, contributing to a significant increase in violent crime and United 
States deaths from dangerous drugs. Among those who illegally enter are 
those who seek to harm Americans through acts of terror or criminal conduct. 
Continued illegal immigration presents a clear and present danger to the 
interests of the United States. 
Federal immigration law both imposes the responsibility and provides the 
means for the Federal Government, in cooperation with border States, to 
secure the Nation’s southern border. Although Federal immigration law pro-
vides a robust framework for Federal-State partnership in enforcing our 
immigration laws—and the Congress has authorized and provided appropria-
tions to secure our borders—the Federal Government has failed to discharge 
this basic sovereign responsibility. The purpose of this order is to direct 
executive departments and agencies (agencies) to deploy all lawful means 
to secure the Nation’s southern border, to prevent further illegal immigration 
into the United States, and to repatriate illegal aliens swiftly, consistently, 
and humanely. 
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the executive branch to: 
(a) secure the southern border of the United States through the immediate 
construction of a physical wall on the southern border, monitored and 
supported by adequate personnel so as to prevent illegal immigration, drug 
and human trafficking, and acts of terrorism; 
(b) detain individuals apprehended on suspicion of violating Federal or 
State law, including Federal immigration law, pending further proceedings 
regarding those violations; 
(c) expedite determinations of apprehended individuals’ claims of eligi-
bility to remain in the United States; 
(d) remove promptly those individuals whose legal claims to remain in 
the United States have been lawfully rejected, after any appropriate civil 
or criminal sanctions have been imposed; and 
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(e) cooperate fully with States and local law enforcement in enacting 
Federal-State partnerships to enforce Federal immigration priorities, as well 
as State monitoring and detention programs that are consistent with Federal 
law and do not undermine Federal immigration priorities. 
Sec. 3.  Definitions.  (a) ‘‘Asylum officer’’ has the meaning given the term 
in section 235(b)(1)(E) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)). 
(b) ‘‘Southern border’’ shall mean the contiguous land border between 
the United States and Mexico, including all points of entry. 
(c) ‘‘Border States’’ shall mean the States of the United States immediately 
adjacent to the contiguous land border between the United States and Mexico. 
(d) Except as otherwise noted, ‘‘the Secretary’’ shall refer to the Secretary 
of Homeland Security. 
(e) ‘‘Wall’’ shall mean a contiguous, physical wall or other similarly secure, 
contiguous, and impassable physical barrier. 
(f) ‘‘Executive department’’ shall have the meaning given in section 101 
of title 5, United States Code. 
(g) ‘‘Regulations’’ shall mean any and all Federal rules, regulations, and 
directives lawfully promulgated by agencies. 
(h) ‘‘Operational control’’ shall mean the prevention of all unlawful entries 
into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, 
instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband. 
Sec. 4.  Physical Security of the Southern Border of the United States. The 
Secretary shall immediately take the following steps to obtain complete 
operational control, as determined by the Secretary, of the southern border: 
(a) In accordance with existing law, including the Secure Fence Act and 
IIRIRA, take all appropriate steps to immediately plan, design, and construct 
a physical wall along the southern border, using appropriate materials and 
technology to most effectively achieve complete operational control of the 
southern border; 
(b) Identify and, to the extent permitted by law, allocate all sources of 
Federal funds for the planning, designing, and constructing of a physical 
wall along the southern border; 
(c) Project and develop long-term funding requirements for the wall, includ-
ing preparing Congressional budget requests for the current and upcoming 
fiscal years; and 
(d) Produce a comprehensive study of the security of the southern border, 
to be completed within 180 days of this order, that shall include the current 
state of southern border security, all geophysical and topographical aspects 
of the southern border, the availability of Federal and State resources nec-
essary to achieve complete operational control of the southern border, and 
a strategy to obtain and maintain complete operational control of the southern 
border. 
Sec. 5.  Detention Facilities. (a) The Secretary shall take all appropriate 
action and allocate all legally available resources to immediately construct, 
operate, control, or establish contracts to construct, operate, or control facili-
ties to detain aliens at or near the land border with Mexico. 
(b) The Secretary shall take all appropriate action and allocate all legally 
available resources to immediately assign asylum officers to immigration 
detention facilities for the purpose of accepting asylum referrals and con-
ducting credible fear determinations pursuant to section 235(b)(1) of the 
INA (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)) and applicable regulations and reasonable fear 
determinations pursuant to applicable regulations. 
(c) The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action and allocate 
all legally available resources to immediately assign immigration judges 
to immigration detention facilities operated or controlled by the Secretary, 
or operated or controlled pursuant to contract by the Secretary, for the 
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purpose of conducting proceedings authorized under title 8, chapter 12, 
subchapter II, United States Code. 
Sec. 6.  Detention for Illegal Entry. The Secretary shall immediately take 
all appropriate actions to ensure the detention of aliens apprehended for 
violations of immigration law pending the outcome of their removal pro-
ceedings or their removal from the country to the extent permitted by 
law. The Secretary shall issue new policy guidance to all Department of 
Homeland Security personnel regarding the appropriate and consistent use 
of lawful detention authority under the INA, including the termination of 
the practice commonly known as ‘‘catch and release,’’ whereby aliens are 
routinely released in the United States shortly after their apprehension for 
violations of immigration law. 
Sec. 7.  Return to Territory. The Secretary shall take appropriate action, 
consistent with the requirements of section 1232 of title 8, United States 
Code, to ensure that aliens described in section 235(b)(2)(C) of the INA 
(8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(C)) are returned to the territory from which they came 
pending a formal removal proceeding. 
Sec. 8.  Additional Border Patrol Agents. Subject to available appropriations, 
the Secretary, through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion, shall take all appropriate action to hire 5,000 additional Border Patrol 
agents, and all appropriate action to ensure that such agents enter on duty 
and are assigned to duty stations as soon as is practicable. 
Sec. 9.  Foreign Aid Reporting Requirements. The head of each executive 
department and agency shall identify and quantify all sources of direct 
and indirect Federal aid or assistance to the Government of Mexico on 
an annual basis over the past five years, including all bilateral and multilat-
eral development aid, economic assistance, humanitarian aid, and military 
aid. Within 30 days of the date of this order, the head of each executive 
department and agency shall submit this information to the Secretary of 
State. Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall submit 
to the President a consolidated report reflecting the levels of such aid 
and assistance that has been provided annually, over each of the past five 
years. 
Sec. 10.  Federal-State Agreements. It is the policy of the executive branch 
to empower State and local law enforcement agencies across the country 
to perform the functions of an immigration officer in the interior of the 
United States to the maximum extent permitted by law. 
(a) In furtherance of this policy, the Secretary shall immediately take 
appropriate action to engage with the Governors of the States, as well as 
local officials, for the purpose of preparing to enter into agreements under 
section 287(g) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1357(g)). 
(b) To the extent permitted by law, and with the consent of State or 
local officials, as appropriate, the Secretary shall take appropriate action, 
through agreements under section 287(g) of the INA, or otherwise, to author-
ize State and local law enforcement officials, as the Secretary determines 
are qualified and appropriate, to perform the functions of immigration officers 
in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens in 
the United States under the direction and the supervision of the Secretary. 
Such authorization shall be in addition to, rather than in place of, Federal 
performance of these duties. 
(c) To the extent permitted by law, the Secretary may structure each 
agreement under section 287(g) of the INA in the manner that provides 
the most effective model for enforcing Federal immigration laws and obtain-
ing operational control over the border for that jurisdiction. 
Sec. 11.  Parole, Asylum, and Removal. It is the policy of the executive 
branch to end the abuse of parole and asylum provisions currently used 
to prevent the lawful removal of removable aliens. 
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(a) The Secretary shall immediately take all appropriate action to ensure 
that the parole and asylum provisions of Federal immigration law are not 
illegally exploited to prevent the removal of otherwise removable aliens. 
(b) The Secretary shall take all appropriate action, including by promul-
gating any appropriate regulations, to ensure that asylum referrals and cred-
ible fear determinations pursuant to section 235(b)(1) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 
1125(b)(1)) and 8 CFR 208.30, and reasonable fear determinations pursuant 
to 8 CFR 208.31, are conducted in a manner consistent with the plain 
language of those provisions. 
(c) Pursuant to section 235(b)(1)(A)(iii)(I) of the INA, the Secretary shall 
take appropriate action to apply, in his sole and unreviewable discretion, 
the provisions of section 235(b)(1)(A)(i) and (ii) of the INA to the aliens 
designated under section 235(b)(1)(A)(iii)(II). 
(d) The Secretary shall take appropriate action to ensure that parole author-
ity under section 212(d)(5) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) is exercised 
only on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the plain language of the 
statute, and in all circumstances only when an individual demonstrates 
urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit derived from 
such parole. 
(e) The Secretary shall take appropriate action to require that all Depart-
ment of Homeland Security personnel are properly trained on the proper 
application of section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) and section 462(g)(2) 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2)), to ensure that 
unaccompanied alien children are properly processed, receive appropriate 
care and placement while in the custody of the Department of Homeland 
Security, and, when appropriate, are safely repatriated in accordance with 
law. 
Sec. 12. Authorization to Enter Federal Lands. The Secretary, in conjunction 
with the Secretary of the Interior and any other heads of agencies as nec-
essary, shall take all appropriate action to: 
(a) permit all officers and employees of the United States, as well as 
all State and local officers as authorized by the Secretary, to have access 
to all Federal lands as necessary and appropriate to implement this order; 
and 
(b) enable those officers and employees of the United States, as well 
as all State and local officers as authorized by the Secretary, to perform 
such actions on Federal lands as the Secretary deems necessary and appro-
priate to implement this order. 
Sec. 13. Priority Enforcement. The Attorney General shall take all appropriate 
steps to establish prosecution guidelines and allocate appropriate resources 
to ensure that Federal prosecutors accord a high priority to prosecutions 
of offenses having a nexus to the southern border. 
Sec. 14.  Government Transparency. The Secretary shall, on a monthly basis 
and in a publicly available way, report statistical data on aliens apprehended 
at or near the southern border using a uniform method of reporting by 
all Department of Homeland Security components, in a format that is easily 
understandable by the public. 
Sec. 15. Reporting. Except as otherwise provided in this order, the Secretary, 
within 90 days of the date of this order, and the Attorney General, within 
180 days, shall each submit to the President a report on the progress of 
the directives contained in this order. 
Sec. 16.  Hiring.  The Office of Personnel Management shall take appropriate 
action as may be necessary to facilitate hiring personnel to implement this 
order. 
Sec. 17.  General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed 
to impair or otherwise affect: 
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(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, 
or the head thereof; or 
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and 
subject to the availability of appropriations. 
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, 
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party 
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, 
employees, or agents, or any other person. 
THE WHITE HOUSE, 
January 25, 2017. 
[FR Doc. 2017–02095 
Filed 1–27–17; 11:15 am] 
Billing code 3295–F7–P 
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