We assess how President Trump’s 2017 “travel ban” Executive Order (EO) created labor market inequality for immigrants from targeted majority-Muslim countries. Our Executive Deference account suggests government evaluators may defer to Presidential priorities during employment-based visa assessments, denying more applicants from targeted countries. Our Bully Pulpit account suggests applicants from targeted countries may preemptively discontinue employment efforts. By analyzing government administrative records, we find worse labor certification outcomes for immigrants from travel ban countries following the EO, primarily due to voluntary application withdrawal. Findings emphasize how EOs may intensify inequality (and advance policy goals) by influencing applicants from targeted countries, even absent formalized regulation.