Donald Trump to sign executive orders to start building Mexico border wall and restrict immigration from Muslim countries that ‘pose national security threat’

PRESIDENT Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders to begin building a border wall with Mexico and restrict immigration from Muslim countries.

The order to build the barrier along America’s southern frontier is expected to be penned today, while it is thought he will rubber stamp the directive on Muslim migrants tomorrow.

He tweeted overnight: “Big day planned on NATIONAL SECURITY tomorrow. Among many other things, we will build the wall!”

Part of the US-Mexican border is already covered by a large fence, but it is hoped the wall will eventually stretch all the way across the 2,000-mile boundary.

But the president’s order would only be able to divert some existing funds to get the huge multi-billion dollar project kickstarted.

He would need to convince Congress to supply new money if the project is to be anywhere near completed.

Trump promised on the campaign trail to “make Mexico pay” for the wall – something the Mexican government has repeatedly scoffed at.

It is thought some form of border tax could be his way of fulfilling his promise.

But the wall would still need to be funded by American cash in the first back before being paid back over time this way.

Trump is also expected to restrict access to the United States for refugees and some visa holders from "terror prone" countries Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, according to aides.

Reuters said it spoke to several congressional aides and immigration experts briefed on the matter.

It is thought the announcement will be made tomorrow at the US Department of Homeland Security.

• ·         Syria – Ravaged by civil war for nearly six years, the lawless country is the home base and training centre for a host of terror groups, including ISIS and the formerly Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front.
• ·         Iraq – Unstable since the 2003 US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, ISIS took over swathes of the country with ease in 2014, taking advantage of the sympathetic Sunni minority that made the same areas a breeding ground for Al Qaeda during the anti-West insurgency.
• ·         Iran – A radical Islamist republic since the 1979 revolution – remembered by many in America for the hostage crisis after the country’s embassy in Tehran was stormed – Iran was branded “the foremost sponsor of terrorism in 2015” by the US State Department.
• ·         Libya – Essentially a failed state since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has seen jihadi groups flourish in recent years, with between seven and nine radical organisations believed to be operating there, according to one US official.
• ·         Somalia – Arguably the world most famous and longest-running failed state, with no effective government since 1991. Home to infamous jihadi group Al Shabbab.
• ·         Sudan – Previously on the State Department’s list of terror sponsors and still a supporter of Palestinian terror group Hamas. Previously used as a transit point for Brit jihadis looking to travel to Syria.
• ·         Yemen – A long-time haven for Al Qaeda and now with a growing ISIS presence since the country was carved in two by the recent civil war which broke out in 2014.

On the campaign trail Trump later announced plans for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslim immigration to the US.

He later softened his stance to advocate temporarily banning immigration “from regions that export terrorism and where safe vetting cannot presently be ensured”.

Many Trump supporters criticised Barack Obama's decision to increase the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the United States over fears that those fleeing the country's civil war would carry out attacks.

Both Trump and his nominee for attorney general, U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions, have since said they would focus the restrictions on countries whose expats could pose a threat rather than placing a ban on people who follow a specific religion.

Trump is likely to instruct the US State Department to stop issuing visas to people from those nations.

He could also instruct US Customs and Border Protection to stop any current visa holders from those countries from entering the United States.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that the State and Homeland Security departments would work on the vetting process once Trump's nominee to head the State Department, Rex Tillerson, is installed.

But the president is expected to make an exception for religious minorities from the list pf proscribed countries that are fleeing persecution.

In practice, this is likely to refer to Christians seeking to escape Syria and other Muslim majority countries in the Middle East.

There is also talk of targeting so-called “sanctuary cities” that refuse to prosecute “illegal aliens”.

And Trump promised on the campaign trail to scrap an Obama scheme granting protection from deportation to hundreds of thousands of illegal child migrants.

The president vowed to end the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), which grants work permits to immigrant kids.

A White House official told The Washington Post: “Many options are being worked through on DACA.”

Other measures may include directing all agencies to finish work on a biometric identification system for non-citizens entering and exiting the United States and a crackdown on immigrants fraudulently receiving government benefits, according to  immigration experts.

Trump is also expected to swear in his new secretary of homeland security, retired Marine General John Kelly, on Wednesday.

Trump has already signed an executive order to ban federal money going to international groups which perform or provide information on abortions.

The US president's press secretary Sean Spicer said the order shows he "wants to stand up for all Americans, including the unborn".

He reinstated the controversial ‘Mexico City policy’ surrounded by a group of men.

Trump also signed an executive order which withdrew the US from the world’s largest free trade agreement.