Donald Trump signed a new executive order Tuesday directing federal regulators and banks to treat certain immigration-related financial activity as a potential risk factor, a move that could make it harder for noncitizens without Social Security numbers to access bank accounts and credit in the United States.
The order, titled "Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System," instructs the Treasury Department and financial regulators to issue updated guidance under the Bank Secrecy Act focused on identifying possible signs of money laundering, labor trafficking and illicit finance.
Among the "red flags" specifically mentioned is the use of an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, instead of a Social Security number. ITINs are issued by the IRS to people who must file taxes but are not eligible for Social Security numbers, including many undocumented immigrants.
The White House said the policy is designed to "restore integrity" to the banking system and argued that weak customer-identification standards have allowed criminal networks to move money through U.S. financial institutions.
The executive order also calls attention to foreign consular identification cards, documents many immigrants have historically used to open bank accounts when they lack U.S.-issued identification.
The measure stops short of an earlier proposal floated by the administration that would have required banks to verify citizenship status directly. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously defended stricter banking verification measures, asking in April: "Why don't we have information on who's in our banking system?"
That broader idea triggered alarm across the banking industry and among consumer advocates, who warned that citizenship verification requirements would create major compliance costs and potentially limit banking access for millions of people, including U.S. citizens lacking passports or birth certificates.
Financial industry officials also warned that verifying citizenship for existing customers would be expensive and difficult to administer. One financial-services lobbyist reportedly described the earlier proposal as a "complete nightmare" operationally.
