FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 20, 2026
CONTACT: Jarice Thompson, jarice@ourfinancialsecurity.org
Trump Administration Weaponizes Financial Regulators with Order to De-Bank Millions of People Based on Immigration Status
Executive order will make the banking system less secure and drive up costs for everyone
Washington, D.C. —Yesterday, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing federal financial regulators to take a series of actions that, if implemented, will destabilize the banking system and make it harder for millions of people to access basic bank accounts, credit cards, and mortgages based primarily on their immigration and citizenship status.
It orders bank regulators to take steps that will limit access to banking accounts and services based on the use of federal taxpayer identification numbers lawfully provided to immigrants so they can comply with tax laws and file returns.
“This order will push millions of people out of the banking system they rely on to borrow, save, and build their economic lives and force front-line staff at banks and credit unions across the country to serve as de facto immigration enforcement agents,” said Tom Feltner, associate director of consumer policy at Americans for Financial Reform. “Abusing the trust between people and their financial institutions will shatter the integrity of the very banking system this executive order falsely claims to protect.”
The order also directs regulators to consider the risk of deportation and wage loss when assessing the creditworthiness of immigrant borrowers for mortgages under “ability-to-repay” standards, which would allow lenders to unfairly deny loans to immigrants.
“It is the Trump administration’s actions that threaten the integrity of our financial system, not immigrants,” said Caroline Nagy, associate director of housing policy at Americans for Financial Reform. “In difficult economic times, the continued integrity of the U.S. mortgage market is fundamental to global financial stability. This proposal seeks to further the administration’s domestic policy goals by scapegoating immigrants, thus politicizing the risk models at the very foundation of our housing finance system.”
The exclusionary nature of the executive order necessarily drives people — and their financial assets — towards riskier, more predatory, and more expensive non-bank financial institutions subject to less regulatory oversight and weaker safeguards. When such institutions are engaged in risky activities — or even unlawful ones like fraud and abuse — regulators are often unable to assess and mitigate the threats they pose, meaning that those risks can leak into the broader financial system.
“Financial stability is the basis of an economy that ensures security and opportunity for working people across this country,” said Maya Jenkins, Senior Policy Analyst for Special Projects at Americans for Financial Reform. “This executive order aims to push immigrant communities out of the regulated banking system and into the world of shadow banking, where predatory companies have long taken financial risks so excessive they threaten the economy for everyone. The 2008 financial crisis emerged from those very shadows — the Trump administration’s actions are hastening yet another one.”
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