Career officials at the U.S. Treasury Department are pushing back against a Trump administration effort that could require banks to verify customers’ citizenship information, as lenders warn the idea would be costly, difficult to implement, and potentially harmful to the economy, Bloomberg reported.

Some longtime Treasury staff have been trying to steer political appointees toward a softer approach under which banks would certify U.S. citizenship rather than check immigration status directly, the news agency said. The discussions follow objections from banking industry groups over the feasibility of collecting such information and the possible effects on customers.

Banks have told officials they are concerned about the cost of checking immigration status for new, existing and even former customers, as well as whether such requests would be legal, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Lenders have also warned that cutting people off from banking services could damage the broader U.S. economy, the report said.

The initiative would also appear to conflict with the administration’s stated goal of reducing regulatory burdens on banks, the news outlet noted. President Donald Trump and his top economic advisers have repeatedly argued that excessive regulation is restraining business activity and economic growth.

No final decision has been made on requiring the data, Bloomberg said. Earlier media accounts had described internal discussions about a possible executive order mandating collection of citizenship information, but a White House official said the administration was not working on such an order in the manner previously described.

Although the effort is aimed at immigrants, it could also affect many U.S. citizens who do not readily possess documents proving citizenship, according to Bloomberg. Approximately 183 million U.S. passports were in circulation in 2025, compared with a national population of more than 340 million.

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