Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders on everything from immigration, climate to pardons after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
At the White House, the Republican quickly set about using his new powers to sign off on executive actions, presidential memorandums and executive orders on a host of policy priorities.
Executive orders carry the weight of law, but can be overturned by subsequent presidents or the courts. Many could face legal challenges.
Here are some of the many policy changes that Trump enacted within hours of being sworn into office.
*Immigration
In the Oval Office, Trump signed a directive to declare a national emergency at the southern border. “That’s a big one,” Trump said as he added his signature.
He also targeted automatic citizenship for US-born children of immigrants in the country illegally.
Trump also signed an order that is set to suspend the US refugee resettlement programme for four months, though the details were unclear.
*Closing the border
Trump ordered the military to “seal the borders” and cited the flow of illicit drugs, human smuggling and crime relating to crossings.
*Terrorism designation for gangs and cartels
The president signed a directive that designates drug cartels and international gangs as foreign terrorist organisations. Salvadoran migrant gang MS-13 and Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua will be added to a list that includes al-Qaeda, the so-called Islamic State and Hamas.
*Resume wall-building
As part of his emergency declaration at the southern border, Trump directed agency chiefs to relaunch efforts to “construct additional physical barriers along the southern border”. The directive is not an executive order and it’s unclear how such an effort might be funded, a key hurdle for Trump during his first term.
When Trump was first elected president in 2016, he signed an executive order to build a border wall. Although some parts of barrier were built, most was left uncompleted.
*Remain in Mexico
Trump also re-implemented his “Remain in Mexico” policy in a day-one executive order. A measure from his first term, it returned about 70,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers across the border to await hearings.
*Migration policy
In the same order, Trump also shut down a major Biden-era immigration pipeline: a sponsorship initiative that allowed up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to fly to the US.
This policy, known as CHNV, was designed to lower illegal border crossings, the Biden administration had said.
*Death penalty for certain immigrant criminals
Trump signed an executive order reinstating the death penalty. The order details those who the penalty should be used on and includes any “capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this country” and anyone convicted of murdering a law-enforcement officer.
*Deportations
Trump issued an executive order ending the practice of “catch and release”, a policy that allows migrants to live in US communities while they await their hearings.
He has previously promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” and end a long-time policy that has kept federal immigration authorities from conducting raids on churches and schools.
His immigration promises could face legal and logistical challenges.
*TikTok
Trump also signed a directive postponing the implementation of a law banning Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok for 75 days.
TikTok welcomed Trump’s promises on this and restored US services after briefly switching them off before his inauguration.
Trump had said his order would give TikTok’s parent company more time to find a US partner to buy a majority stake, but details on the directive he signed aren’t clear.
Asked what the action does after he signed it, Trump says it gives him the right to “sell it or close it”.
The new president formerly backed a TikTok ban, but indicated he reversed course after his campaign videos attracted billions of views.
*Government reform, Doge and Elon Musk
Trump has signed a directive creating the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – a new advisory body that aims to cut government costs. It is expected to be led by Elon Musk.
Trump said Musk, the head of Tesla and SpaceX, will get an office for about 20 employees for the new agency.
*Freeze on federal hiring
Trump signed an action halting any new federal hiring – except within the US military and several other categories – until the Trump administration has full control over the government.
*Federal employees returning to the office
Trump signed a document mandating that federal workers must work in the office and are not allowed to work from home.
*Censorship
Trump signed a directive “ordering the restoration of freedom of speech and preventing government censorship”.
The order directs the attorney general to investigate the activities of officials at such agencies as the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission during the previous administration.
*Political prosecutions
The new US president signed an executive order that sought to end the “weaponization of government against political adversaries”. The order mandates a review of the work of various law enforcement and intelligence agencies under the Biden administration to “identify any instances” of weaponisation, and then recommend “appropriate remedial actions” against these agencies.
World Health Organisation
Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Oooh, that’s a big one,” he said as he signed the document. This marks the second time Trump has ordered the US be pulled out of the WHO.
Trump was critical of how the Geneva-based institution handled Covid-19 and began the process of pulling out from it during the pandemic. President Joe Biden later reversed that decision.
The US President also signed other executive orders on day one in office.
(Culled from the BBC)
