Executive Order: Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats

Signed by President Trump: January 20, 2025

Access the executive order on whitehouse.gov

NAFSA Summary

Section 2, Enhanced Vetting and Screening Across Agencies, calls on agencies to enhance screening and vetting and return standards and procedures to those effective during the prior Trump administration. This section also directs the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the Director of National Intelligence to submit a joint report within 60 days that:

• identifies "countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA"
• identifies many nationals from those countries have entered or have been admitted into the United States on or since January 20, 2021, and for DHS to "take immediate steps to exclude or remove that alien unless she determines that doing so would inhibit a significant pending investigation or prosecution of the alien for a serious criminal offense or would be contrary to the national security interests of the United States."
• and for any individual who may be covered by a country finding under this provision, directs DHS to "take immediate steps to exclude or remove that alien unless she determines that doing so would inhibit a significant pending investigation or prosecution of the alien for a serious criminal offense or would be contrary to the national security interests of the United States."

Section 3, Additional Measures to Protect the Nation, contains various calls on "the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence" to "evaluate," "ensure," or "recommend" all visa and refugee programs so as to:

• "safeguard First Amendment rights and prevent the admission of individuals who: Promote sectarian violence; Support foreign terrorists or seek to undermine U.S. constitutional principles"
• "promote a unified American identity and attachment to the Constitution, laws, and founding principles of the United States;
• recommend "any additional actions to protect the American people and our constitutional republic from foreign threats."

Implications for International Education

• Increased scrutiny could result in delays and additional requirements for student and scholar visa applicants.
• Students and scholars from countries identified through the process described in Section 2 may face bans on admission to the United States or increased visa denials.