Trump Considers Order for Banks to Verify Citizenship

The Trump administration is considering an executive order that would require U.S. banks to collect and verify customers' citizenship status, a move aimed at bolstering immigration enforcement efforts, according to reports from multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

The proposed order, which has not been finalized, would mandate financial institutions to gather documentation such as passports from both new and existing account holders to confirm their citizenship or legal status. Officials are exploring implementation through the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, which oversees anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing regulations. Under current federal rules, banks must verify customer identities to combat financial crimes, including flagging suspicious transactions, but they are not required to collect or report citizenship information. Noncitizens currently face no restrictions on opening bank accounts in the United States.

Discussions about the order have taken place within the Treasury Department, with the White House emphasizing that no decision has been made. "Any reporting about potential policymaking that has not...