Washington Donald Trump signed hundreds of executive orders late Monday following his inauguration as the 47th president, starting his crackdown on immigration at the southern border.
In a call with reporters early Monday, Trump officials provided more details about those directives.
Declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border was one of the most well-known orders that Trump signed.
An incoming Trump official stated, speaking on background, that this action deploys armed forces, erects physical barriers by ordering secretaries from the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to complete the wall along the border, and permits counter (Unmanned Aircraft System) capabilities close to the southern borders. Furthermore, it expressly instructs the secretary of defense to send more troops, including National Guard members and members of the armed forces, to the border issue.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Trump’s choice to implement his immigration policies, finished her confirmation hearing last week and is probably going to be voted on by the Senate in the next few days.
Despite being grilled by Senate Democrats at his confirmation hearing, Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for defense secretary, is expected to be confirmed by Republicans when his nomination is presented to the floor.
The southern border national emergency executive order also mandates that the secretaries of DOD and DHS submit a joint report to the president within ninety days regarding the state of affairs at the southern border and any suggestions for further measures that might be required to gain full operational control of the southern border, including whether to use the Insurrection Act of 1807.
Under some circumstances, such as domestic unrest like civil disorder or revolt, the president may use the U.S. military against Americans, according to the Insurrection Act of 1807.
Numerous legal immigration schemes, including the use of humanitarian parole programs for citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, were terminated by another executive order. Additionally, the CBP One app, which let migrants schedule appointments with asylum authorities, was discontinued. Within an hour after Trump’s inauguration, the app was taken offline.
During her confirmation hearing, Noem had mentioned that DHS would save the data gathered, but that the app would be suspended on Trump’s first day in office.
According to CBP data, about 1 million migrants have used the app to make appointments.
The ACLU sued the Trump administration’s decision to discontinue the CBP One app later on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy and other measures from the first Trump administration were also reintroduced by that same executive order.
As long as their asylum claims were pending in the courts—which might take months or even years—asylum seekers were obliged to stay in Mexico, frequently in hazardous conditions.
Additionally, it restored the prohibition on “catch and release,” which permits detained migrants to reside in American communities while they wait for an immigration judge to hear their asylum petitions.
Additionally, it gives the Secretary of DHS the authority to enter into contracts for the construction, management, control, or use of facilities for the detention of removable immigrants.
The border and the military
The Trump official added that the executive orders will make clear the duty of the U.S. military in defending American land.
According to the official, this action assigns the military the task of sealing our borders and establishes campaign planning standards. In order to preserve American sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security against all types of invasion, including illegal mass migration, drug trafficking, human smuggling, attacks, and other criminal activities, the executive order instructs the military to give priority to our borders and territorial integrity when planning its operations.
An executive order from his first administration that provided advice on immigration enforcement tactics with an emphasis on expelling unauthorized immigrants was also resurrected by Trump. In 2021, the Biden administration revoked that directive.
There will probably be instant legal challenges to some of the Trump administration’s acts. According to officials, they want to take action to terminate birthright citizenship, which is protected by the 14th Amendment and upheld in a Supreme Court decision from 1898, as well as asylum, which is a legal requirement in the United States.
According to a Trump official, the federal government would not acknowledge automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the country.
Trump admitted that there could be legal challenges to the birthright citizenship executive order he signed.
In the Oval Office, Trump stated, “I believe we have good grounds.”
Trump also designated cartel gangs as global terrorists in one of his executive orders.
Beginning on January 27, another will halt refugee resettlement activities for a minimum of four months. The U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement assists refugees in resettling in the United States and manages unaccompanied youngsters. Over 100,000 refugees were relocated in the nation by the officer in fiscal year 2024.
The attorney general will be instructed by another executive order to seek the death sentence for capital offenses committed by citizens without legal authorization as well as for the murder of law enforcement officers.
The Department of Justice, however, plans to pursue the death penalty for undocumented immigrants who kill and maim Americans, according to the White House.
According to the Trump official, this is about public safety and the victims of some of the most vicious and abusive criminals that have ever entered our nation. And today is the last day.
