White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Friday that the Trump administration is seeking to debank illegal immigrants as an incentive for them to self-deport from the United States.
Miller gave an update on the White House’s latest tactic to deter illegal immigration during an interview Friday on The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton show.
“President Trump signed an executive order a few weeks ago saying that we are not going to allow illegal aliens to use banking services in this country,” Miller said.
“Illegal aliens have credit cards, they have bank accounts, and they’re paid with direct deposit. So, illegal aliens fully participate in the commercial systems, the financial systems of America. Shutting that down is a massive engine for deportation,” he added.
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Miller was likely referring to an executive order Trump signed on May 19 that directed banks and federal regulators to increase scrutiny of accounts and credit applications involving immigrants without legal status or work authorization.
The order did not explicitly instruct banks to deny credit cards or bank accounts to illegal immigrants, but compliance with it could make it more difficult for them to participate in the financial system.
Federal agencies have already begun acting on Trump’s executive order.
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In early June, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, led by Russell Vought, issued guidance stating that lenders may — and in some cases must — consider applicants’ immigration status and work authorization when assessing their ability to repay loans.
Miller also referenced guidance from three federal agencies issued on July 13 “reminding supervised financial institutions to apply existing safe-and-sound credit risk management practices when lending to borrowers who are not legally authorized to work in the United States.”
Both advisories serve to tell banks that illegal immigrants could be higher-risk customers for loans.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
