Donald Trump moves his fight against immigrants from the border to the banks

Donald Trump has been plotting new ways to actualize his mass deportation agenda following the implosion of immigration raids across the country. New reports now suggest the administration is considering an executive order that would require banks to collect citizenship information from both new and existing customers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the administration is expecting full compliance from financial institutions. If the executive order is signed, banks would be required to ask for an additional category of documents, including — but not limited to — passports. Sources familiar with internal discussions within major banks report widespread alarm throughout the industry.

As things stand, banks are already required to collect certain information from customers under “know your customer” rules. These measures are primarily intended to help law enforcement track financial crimes such as money laundering, while also allowing the IRS to identify potential tax evasion. However, banks in the U.S. do not typically collect citizenship information, and there is no legal prohibition preventing noncitizens from opening bank accounts.

It is also worth noting that many bank executives were initially receptive to another Trump presidency. At the World Economic Forum, Trump even joked that whenever he was in power, top executives at major corporations tended to make the most money. But as has often been established, some snakes eventually start swallowing their own tails.

Trump’s immigration crackdown was filled with sweeping promises. He pledged the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, claiming Americans would benefit from the jobs left behind and safer streets. What followed, however, included federal agents killing Americans while pursuing those goals. Meanwhile, many Americans continue to report — anecdotally at least — that their cost of living has not improved.

A White House official stated that the potential executive order remains under discussion with relevant departments and that nothing has been finalized. As the administration has repeatedly emphasized, no policy should be considered certain until the president formally announces it. White House spokesman Kush Desai was particularly firm, stating that any policy discussed before official confirmation should be dismissed as “baseless.” That said, this would hardly be the first time White House staff and the president contradicted one another if Trump were to make this official in the coming days.

If such an executive order were enacted, Americans should expect slower account openings, increased paperwork, and more bureaucratic hurdles as bank records become more deeply integrated with government databases. Any errors in verification would also expose banks to significant legal risk. It is easy to imagine how this could unfold: a wrongful or incorrect verification could send federal agents to the wrong address, and given the administration’s track record, the outcome of such a misunderstanding is unpredictable. The resulting liability would fall squarely on the banks.

This could ultimately lead to widespread discrimination, particularly in regions of the U.S. with large immigrant populations. There is a great deal to consider with an executive order of this magnitude. One can only hope that, this time, the White House dots its i’s and crosses its t’s.