In a move that has sent shockwaves through political and legal circles, former President Donald Trump has announced plans for mass deportations, targeting millions of immigrants. Central to his unprecedented claim is the assertion that thousands received citizenship through executive actions signed by President Joe Biden using an autopen—a mechanical signature device.
What is the Autopen and Why is it Controversial?
An autopen is a decades-old device that mechanically replicates a person's signature. It allows prominent figures like presidents to sign hundreds of documents daily without being physically present. The machine grips a pen and reproduces a pre-programmed signature, making it virtually indistinguishable from a manual one.
Presidents from both parties have used this technology for decades. Barack Obama made history in 2011 by becoming the first president to sign a bill into law with an autopen, authorizing a Patriot Act extension while he was traveling in France. Notably, Trump himself has acknowledged using the device during his previous term in office.
The controversy ignited when Trump jokingly declared that Biden's turkey pardons from the previous year were "totally invalid" because they were signed with an autopen. He has since expanded this criticism to question the legitimacy of thousands of executive actions from the Biden administration, claiming they were used for pardons and major policy directives without clear approval. However, no evidence has been provided to support these assertions.
Legal Experts Dismiss Trump's Authority
Legal scholars have uniformly rejected Trump's claims that he can nullify Biden-era actions based on autopen use. A 2005 Justice Department memo confirmed that presidents do not need to physically sign bills for them to become law. Furthermore, the Constitution imposes no requirement that pardons be handwritten.
Harry Melkonian, a lawyer and honorary associate at the United States Studies Centre, stated unequivocally that Trump "doesn't have that authority" to void pardons, noting that only the Supreme Court could potentially intervene in such matters.
The political battle intensified with a House Oversight Committee report released in October 2025. It alleged that Biden's cognitive decline led to unauthorized autopen use, though several key witnesses invoked Fifth Amendment protections rather than testify. The report has been widely criticized as politically motivated, with experts noting that simple disagreement with a president's policies does not constitute evidence of mental incompetence.
Unprecedented Immigration Consequences
Trump's deportation plans represent an unprecedented challenge to established immigration procedures and presidential powers. By targeting what he calls "autopen citizens," he is attempting to link immigration policy with questions about the validity of executive actions from the previous administration.
The announcement marks a significant escalation in Trump's ongoing attacks on his predecessor's legacy and could have far-reaching implications for both immigration law and the established norms of presidential power. As legal experts continue to question the foundation of these claims, the stage is set for a major constitutional and political battle over the limits of executive authority and the rights of immigrants.
