President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a recently signed executive order will put the Treasury Department in charge of targeting financial activity he says is tied to fraud, illegal immigration, human smuggling, drug trafficking and criminal cartels.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said access to the financial system “must be limited to those who have a Legal Right to be here.” He added that accounts used to enable illegal immigration or store welfare received by undocumented immigrants would be shut down and that funds would “ultimately face Impoundment and Seizure so they can be returned to Taxpayers.”
Those specific measures do not appear in the signed order. The White House order, titled Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System, is dated May 19, 2026. It directs federal agencies to propose and consider regulatory changes across a series of deadlines rather than mandating immediate account closures, seizures or other enforcement actions.
Within 60 days, the Treasury secretary must issue a formal advisory outlining red flags for financial institutions, including payroll tax evasion patterns, use of foreign identity documents and use of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers by applicants without verified lawful immigration status.
Within 90 days, Treasury must propose changes to Bank Secrecy Act regulations to strengthen customer due diligence requirements, according to the order. Those changes could allow institutions to request immigration status information when relevant to assessing fraud or other illicit financial risks.
The order also directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, within 60 days, to consider clarifying that potential deportation and loss of wages may be factored into ability-to-repay assessments for non-work-authorized borrowers.
Trump described the effort on Truth Social as targeting billions of dollars leaving the country through criminal activity and called it among the most effective tools for addressing illegal immigration.
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