Executive Order Will Cut Off Financial Services to Millions of Immigrants

May 20, 2026 — Press Release

Actions Would Radically Destabilize the National Banking System

WASHINGTON – President Trump issued an Executive Order yesterday seeking to cut huge numbers of immigrants out of the mainstream financial system and to weaponize the financial system against immigrants to further the Administration’s mass deportation efforts. 

“If implemented by regulators, this ill-conceived executive order will radically destabilize the U.S. financial system and force debanking on an unprecedented scale,” said Diane Thompson, deputy director and chief advocacy office at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). “Forcing people to put their money under the mattress instead of in the bank is a further assault on the financial system and immigrant communities.” 

The order requires federal regulators to rewrite the rules governing loans, deposit accounts, and other basic financial services in order to exclude people based on their immigration status. People the administration deems to be at risk of deportation would not be able to get mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards, and would likely struggle to open a checking or savings account. Entire communities face the prospect of being debanked.

“Removing the ability of immigrants to hold secure bank accounts and send payments to family members in need is misguided and cruel,” said Carla Sanchez-Adams, senior attorney at NCLC. “This Administration has been preoccupied with people being ‘debanked;’ however, this EO is an effort to systematically debank millions of people based on suspicion and stereotypes.”

The order seeks to cut off immigrants’ ability to obtain home mortgages, a key tool for many families to ensure their families’ safety and financial stability. 

“People must not be denied mortgages based on assumptions about their immigration status,” said Alys Cohen, director of federal housing advocacy at NCLC. “We must not weaponize the financial system against the Black and Latino communities this Administration is targeting.” 

President Trump’s order directs the Treasury and financial regulators to amend the Bank Secrecy Act to probe customers’ immigration status and the source of their money.

“Financial regulators, bankers, and mortgage lenders should not be conscripted to fight this president’s war on immigrant communities,” Thompson said. “This administration should be directing its resources to resolving the worsening affordability crisis that’s putting groceries, gas, and healthcare beyond the reach of most working people. Demonizing immigrants and disrupting our financial system will destabilize an economy that is increasingly tilted toward the billionaire class.” 

Related Resources

• Issue Brief: What States & Local Governments Can Do to Support Immigrants’ Financial Stability, April 17, 2026
• Press Release: ICE Has Created a Disaster in Minnesota; The Financial Services Industry Can Help, Feb. 9, 2026
• Comments on Treasury Department’s Request for Information on Financial Inclusion, Feb. 20, 2024