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The Trump administration is considering one executive order or some other move where banks would collect citizenship information from their customers, reports indicate.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Treasury Department officials have discussed steps that would allow banks to collect citizenship information from customers in a way that would echo Trump’s crackdown on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the move could ultimately prompt banks to request an unprecedented new category of documents – such as a passport – from customers seeking to open or maintain accounts.
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A Chase bank branch in New York, July 2, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The report said the discussions are worrying banks, some sources say, as executives consider the operational burden and legal risks of imposing new documentation standards on millions of customers.
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Banks are not required to specifically collect or verify citizenship status. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Under existing know-your-customer rules, banks are required to collect certain identifying information to protect against money laundering and financial crimes.
That typically includes the customer’s name, date of birth, address and tax ID number and, in some cases, a passport or citizen service number.
Banks are not required to specifically collect or verify citizenship status, and there is no ban on opening accounts for non-citizens living in the US. Banks also do not routinely share customers’ citizenship information with the federal government.
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Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said he supports the Trump administration “taking action to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing our banking system.” (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Getty Images)
One option also being considered is to have the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network collect the information, people familiar with the matter said.
A White House official reportedly said the potential executive order has been discussed within the Treasury Department but has not yet been approved.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., shared online a letter he sent to the Treasury secretary Scott Bessent last year, saying that the “American banking system is a privilege that should be reserved for those who respect our laws and sovereignty.”
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“I strongly support President Trump taking action to prevent this illegal migrants cannot access our banking system,” Cotton wrote in an X-post on Tuesday.
