President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing federal financial regulators to treat undocumented immigrants as potential credit and compliance risks, instructing banks to consider deportation risk as a factor in loan underwriting, and citing the use of individual taxpayer identification numbers as a potential red flag for enhanced scrutiny.

The order, titled “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System” and dated May 19, 2026, tasks the U.S. Treasury Department and banking regulators with issuing new guidance and proposing regulatory changes under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) within 60 to 180 days. 

Under the E.O., the treasury secretary must issue a formal advisory to financial institutions within 60 days identifying red flags and suspicious activity typologies, including the use of an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to open accounts or obtain credit because an applicant potentially “lacks verified lawful immigration status.” 

While the order acknowledges that the identification numbers “facilitate tax compliance,” the White House also said that the use of an ITIN in lieu of a Social Security number or work-authorized visa should be viewed by financial institution as a risk factor warranting enhanced due diligence. The additional scrutiny is intended to “ensure the account is not being utilized to facilitate the unlawful employment of unauthorized aliens,” according to the order. 

Within 90 days, Treasury is directed to propose Bank Secrecy Act regulatory changes strengthening customer due diligence requirements, including provisions that would allow institutions to obtain information on whether accountholders possess lawful immigration status and work authorization “when such information is relevant to assessing risks associated with fraud, identity misrepresentation, sanctions evasion, or other illicit financial activity.”

Over the next 180 days, Treasury and regulators must weigh additional BSA amendments to account for risks posed by foreign consular identification cards. 

Wednesday’s E.O. separately directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to consider clarifying within 60 days that potential deportation and resulting wage loss could qualify as factors for loans. 

The order characterizes lending to undocumented immigrants as creating a structural “ability-to-repay” deficiency, arguing that removal risk or employer compliance with immigration law could interrupt borrowers’ income streams. Banks and other lenders should weigh the same factors when assessing loans for businesses that employ undocumented workers, the White House said.

In a report on the directive published Wednesday, Bloomberg framed the directive as a pivot away from a previous White House plan to require banks to verify the citizenship status of their customers. The proposal prompted widespread pushback, including by Treasury officials and industry lobbying groups that felt it would place a costly and unwieldy burden on financial institutions. 

Banks had “serious concerns” about the plan in part because many U.S. citizens don’t have passports or other documents used to verify citizenship, and could consequently lose access to the financial system, Rebeca Romero Rainey, head of the Independent Community Bankers of America, argued in a letter cited by Bloomberg. 

“With nearly half the country not having passports, this would put a disproportionate burden on community banks and the communities that we serve,” she told Bloomberg on Tuesday. The news outlet said she and other industry representatives expressed relief that the new E.O. seems to take an alternative approach.