After maintaining control of the Senate but losing the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, President Trump is not slowing down on his push to revamp immigration laws and control the flow of migrants coming into the United States. It is expected that the President will sign an executive order this week that will change the way asylum seekers are processed after crossing the border.

Executive Order Will Bar Illegal Migrants from Seeking Asylum

Currently, the law allows “any alien who is physically present” to apply for asylum within their first year of arriving in the United States. This means that even those who enter illegally can then follow process and, in many cases, become legally residing aliens.

The order will require that all asylum seekers come through an official port of entry on the border so that processing can begin immediately. The administration believes that this will allow for better control of migrants while also making it easier to allocate the appropriate resources.

It is believed that the directive from the President will be a temporary measure that will remain in effect while new immigration laws are proposed. Any major new law will need to be passed through the House of Representatives, which could become problematic without a Republican majority.

President Trump has in the past called Democrats “obstructionists”, and political observers are currently divided on whether the White House will be able to work with lawmakers to achieve his legislative goals.

Trump Still Seeking Funding to Build a Wall

In addition to the executive order, President Trump is still seeking funding for a border wall. Trump said this week that “Many Democrats know we need the wall, and we’re just going to have to see what happens. We’ll be fighting for it.” The President hinted again at obstruction, saying that “The whole agenda has been to try not giving me anything for the wall. I really believe, politically, they [Democrats] are hurting themselves. I actually think, politically, that is a good thing for me, but I want to get the wall up because we need it.”

Retaining control and extending seats held in the Senate was a huge win for the President and his party this week. However, with an opposition-controlled House of Representatives, the legislative process and President Trump’s own policy goals, particularly those on immigration, may be challenged during the next two years.