Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the United States Department of the Treasury to crack down on financial accounts allegedly connected to illegal immigration, cartel activity and human trafficking operations.
The president announced the move in a June 2 post on Truth Social, saying the administration would target banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions used to move money linked to drug trafficking, human smuggling and illegal immigration.
“Illegal Immigrants and Foreign Fraudsters steal BILLIONS every year from the American Taxpayer. As part of my Administration’s Historic effort to end FRAUD and reverse MASS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, I recently signed a powerful new Executive Order, which will be led by the Treasury Department, to stop Banks, Credit Cards, and Financial Institutions from being used to facilitate Human Smuggling, Drug Trafficking, Illegal Immigration, and the Criminal Cartels who orchestrate these activities,” he wrote.
According to the president, the order authorizes action against accounts allegedly used to facilitate illegal immigration or store government benefits received by undocumented immigrants.
“Bank Accounts being used to enable Illegal Immigration, or to store the Welfare received by Illegal Aliens, will be shut down,” President Trump said.
The administration argued the measure is intended to disrupt criminal financial networks operating through the U.S. banking system.
Treasury officials have previously highlighted cases involving cartel-linked money laundering operations. In March, the department sanctioned a network allegedly tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, accusing traffickers of converting fentanyl proceeds into cryptocurrency before routing funds back to cartel operatives.
“Treasury will continue to target terrorist cartels and their fentanyl trafficking networks,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this year.
Federal officials have also pointed to large-scale international laundering schemes involving Chinese criminal organizations that allegedly moved hundreds of billions of dollars through U.S.-based financial accounts.
The administration has further tied the financial system to labor trafficking investigations. In April 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the seizure of assets connected to a suspected $126 million labor trafficking and money laundering operation in Ohio.
Authorities alleged the network used dozens of shell companies to employ and house undocumented workers while moving millions through bank accounts, real estate holdings and luxury goods purchases.
