In what might be the most important move yet made by the Trump Administration against illegal aliens who are living and working in the United States, the Scott Bessent-led Department of the Treasury announced that it would be cracking down on remittance payments in an ongoing war against illegal immigration.
As background, one of the main reasons illegal aliens immigrate to America is that the wages in the United States, even for work Americans see as being menial and earning low pay, are higher than in most of their home countries. They then send at least some of the proceeds of their work back home, generally to their families, in remittance payments.
Those remittance payments total billions of dollars every year, and have become integral components of the GDPs of many Central and South American countries known for exporting illegal aliens to the United States, including Mexico. As such, action has generally not been taken against illegal alien remittances because it might prove destabilizing.
But the Trump Administration is cracking down regardless, threatening to seize all remittance payments sent out of the country by illegal aliens. As that obviates their reason for being here, at least amongst the ones here to work and send money back home, it will likely prove highly efficacious in encouraging voluntary self-deportations on a massive scale, which would be tremendously useful to the Trump Administration and free up ICE resources.
Announcing the plan to seize remittances, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said, “Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing an Alert as part of Treasury’s effort to prevent the exploitation of the U.S. financial system by illegal aliens in the United States seeking to move illicitly obtained funds.”
Continuing, the press release explained the massive scale of the remittance problem, saying, “Annually over the past several years, the United States has witnessed a significant volume of cross-border funds transfers, including remittances from individuals located in the United States, and has taken multiple steps this year to highlight risks presented by cross-border financial activity.”
Explaining the legal authority for the move and on whom it is cracking down, the press release provided, “This Alert is consistent with Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. Money services businesses (MSBs) are generally required to file a suspicious activity report for a transaction that involves at least $2,000 and that the MSBs know, suspect, or have reason to suspect is relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation.”
"*" indicates required fields
And, noting that this will cover all types of unlawful employment, it said, “This includes the cross-border transfer of funds derived from unlawful employment or otherwise derived from funds the MSB knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect were illicitly obtained in the United States.”
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley, commenting on the move, said, “Money services businesses should be vigilant in identifying suspicious financial activity involving illegal aliens who present significant threats to national security and public safety. At Treasury, we will continue to protect the American people by faithfully upholding the laws of the United States.”
Watch Will Cain of Fox News Channel comment on the remittance problem in the context of Somalia here:
WATCH: Fox News’ Will Cain EXPOSES the Somali community — now over 76,000 in Minnesota — where more than 40% of households in Somalia rely on remittances from abroad, with an estimated $1.7 billion sent annually to the Somali diaspora.
A Somali fraud ring was exposed in… pic.twitter.com/4oBsVkEuZc
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) November 25, 2025