President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Monday to target sanctuary jurisdictions for violating, obstructing, and defying federal immigration laws, and to bolster immigration enforcement by “empowering State and local law enforcement to firmly police dangerous criminal behavior and protect innocent citizens.”

The first order, titled “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens,” begins by reminding readers that the “Constitution provides the Federal Government with plenary authority regarding immigration,” and that federal power over immigration is an “inherent element of national sovereignty.”

It then proceeds to accuse some state and local officials of suspected “sanctuary jurisdictions” of engaging in a “lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the Federal Government’s obligation to defend the territorial sovereignty” of the US. The order also accused the previous administration of allowing millions of unchecked aliens to illegally enter the US and enabling an “invasion at the southern border.” 

The order then instructs the attorney general to publish a list of state and local jurisdictions to be designated as sanctuary jurisdictions within 30 days and update the list periodically. Those so designated are subject to suspension or termination of federal funding grants and contracts. The order also requires the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security to take appropriate action to prevent “aliens in sanctuary jurisdictions” from obtaining federal benefits and halt state and local practices that favor immigrants over US citizens in an unlawful manner. Finally, the order authorizes the attorney general to “pursue all necessary legal remedies” in taking action against those states that continue to defy federal immigration laws.

The second order, titled “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens,” begins by accusing local leaders of “demoniz[ing] law enforcement” by imposing “legal and political handcuffs” that make aggressive enforcement of the law impossible. It further decried the alleged wrongful accusations and abuses suffered by law enforcement officers at the hands of state and local officials and vowed to defend such officers.

The order intends to accomplish this by empowering the attorney general to provide legal resources to law enforcement officers and indemnify them from unjust expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of official duties. Use of private sector pro bono assistance for law enforcement officers is also being envisioned as a part of this design.

The order further instructs the attorney general to review all ongoing federal consent decrees, out-of-court agreements, and post-judgment orders involving state and local law enforcement agencies within 60 days and “modify, rescind, or move to conclude such measures that unduly impede performance of law enforcement functions.”

Among other things, the order also seeks to create a best practices scheme to “aggressively police communities against all crimes;” expand access and improve quality of training of state and local law enforcement; increase pay and benefits for law enforcement officers; seek enhanced sentences for crimes against the police; promote investment in the security and capacity of prisons; and increase investment in collection, distribution, and uniformity of crime data across jurisdictions.

The order also requires the attorney general and secretary of defense, within a 90-day period, to work together to allocate military and national security assets as appropriate to state and local law enforcement authorities and determine how they can be best utilized to prevent crime.

Finally, the order empowers the attorney general to pursue “all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures” to prosecute state and local government officials who “willfully and unlawfully direct the obstruction of criminal law including by directly and unlawfully prohibiting law enforcement officers from carrying out duties necessary for public safety and law enforcement.” It then tags on additional potential for prosecution of state and local officials who “unlawfully engage in discrimination or civil-rights violations under the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”

The impact of these orders are yet to be seen, although the Trump administration has already come under fire in recent weeks for its moves to deport immigrants—even those with legal status. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate the return of a man accidentally deported to El Salvador. Proceedings are still ongoing in the cases of Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil, two students in immigration detention who had their statuses revoked over their pro-Palestinian activism. The worst of these cases involved the immigration-related detention of a native-born American citizen in Florida that raised severe concerns about racial profiling.