President Donald Trump's administration is preparing a new strategy to limit undocumented immigrants' access to the United States financial system, a measure that, according to the White House, seeks to encourage self-deportation by making it difficult to use bank accounts and other services.

The announcement was made by Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, who assured that the Treasury Department has already issued new guidelines for financial institutions and will begin meetings with banks to advance the implementation of the policy.

The strategy to limit banking access

During an interview on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Miller explained that the initiative stems from an executive order signed by Trump in May, which instructs federal agencies to review undocumented immigrants' access to financial products.

The official maintained that many people in an irregular immigration situation use bank accounts, credit cards and direct deposits to receive their salaries, so restricting this access would become a tool to increase voluntary departures from the country.

“We are not going to allow undocumented immigrants to use banking services in this country,” Miller said. He also added that “closing that access is a fundamental driver for deportation” and that the loss of access to capital would favor self-deportation.

Treasury will work with US banks

According to Miller, the Treasury Department, headed by Scott Bessent, has already distributed guidelines to financial institutions and will hold individual meetings with banks to request their collaboration in applying the new rules.

The executive order issued by the Trump administration argues that offering banking services and credit to people who remain in the country irregularly “undermines the security and soundness of the national banking system.”

So far, the government has not detailed how the new guidelines will be applied or what types of accounts or financial products could be affected. It has also not been reported when the possible changes would begin to take effect.

The proposal, however, anticipates a new front in Trump's immigration policy and could face legal challenges from immigrant rights organizations and the financial industry.