In the first 23 days of Donald Trump’s presidency, he ordered 45 executive orders, withdrew the United States from five international agreements and conducted a mass firing of federal officials.
The most controversial topics so far are mass deportation, the future of Birthright Citizenship, the Ending of DEI, an influx of firings of Federal Officials, removal from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement and an increase in tariffs.
Immigration Status:
Now, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are allowed to go into “sensitive areas” such as churches, hospitals and schools, due to the Trump administration getting rid of policies limiting places of arrests, in order to carry out mass deportation.
Several executive orders were put in place to address immigration, specifically from the southern border. Including EO 14157: Designating Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, EO 14159: Protecting the Americans from Invasion, and EO 14161: Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists.
The Federal Register categorizes cartels in EO 14157 as “a national-security threat.” Adding, “functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States. In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society.”
Executive Order 14159 addresses the growing influx of immigrants entering the U.S. The Federal Register labels immigrants as “significant threats to national security and public safety, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans.”
On the first day in office, Trump ordered EO 14160: Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.
According to the Federal Register, this means citizenship is not automatically given if “(1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”
This is proven unconstitutional due to the 14th Amendment Section 1: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” In simplified terms, anyone born in the U.S. is considered a citizen, no matter their parents’ origins.
According to Brennan Center of Justice, on Jan. 23 a federal judge has blocked Trump’s attempt to rescind birthright citizenship in a temporary restraining order due to it being “blatantly unconstitutional.
The End of DEI:
Trump has also ordered EO 14151: “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” which ended all DEI initiatives in the federal government.
DEI stands for Diversity Equity and Inclusion, promoting differences in everyone whether race, age, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability or other aspects of social identity, and treating everyone fairly and providing equal opportunities for all.
At least 240 employees have been fired, reassigned or designated to be laid off, and thousands more can be affected by other ways like a federal buyout offer according to AP News.
Many companies followed suit in removing their DEI initiatives, such as Target, Amazon, Meta, McDonald’s, Walmart, Ford Motor Co., Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson and many more.
According to CNN the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, color and national origin. In the civil Rights Act, Title Vll it establishes the Equal Empylolents Opportunity Commission to eliminate discrimination.
Mass Firings of Federal Officials:
In addition to mass firings, all five members of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 17 inspector generals, over a dozen federal criminal prosecutors that were assigned to cases against Trump, the National Labor Relations Board acting chair, the heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard have all been fired by Trump. Over 160 National Security Council members and 56 senior foreign aid officials were put on administrative leave or review.
Trump has also disbanded the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which according to the Federal Transportation Security Administration, which gives TSA administrators on aviation security matters, refinement and implementation of policies, programs, rule making and security directives pertaining to aviation security.
As of Feb 7., most staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development were fired by the Trump administration and the department entirely was dismantled after serving citizens and other countries for nearly six-decades. Only 611 “essential” workers out of the 10,000 staffers and contractors are exempt from this mass firing.
According to The Guardian “earlier in February, the Trump administration removed two top security officials at USAID after they tried to stop members of Elon Musk’s DOGE team from accessing sensitive data and restricted areas of the building.”
Currently, there are more than 200,000 federal workers who are considered probationary workers. The law does not allow for mass firing of probationary workers on a wide scale without individual assessments or in policy with Reduction in Force procedures for the termination of probationary employees for performance or conduct reasons.
Changes on the International Level:
On the International level, Trump has removed the U.S. from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement. Leaving the “WHO” means the U.S. will no longer take part in leading global health efforts and research such as pandemics, outbreaks, vaccines, treatments, disease prevention, or improving health policies. Also, not participating in the Paris Climate Agreement means no longer coming together with other nations to combat climate change or meet climate action agreements.
According to AP News, “WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said at the meeting on the impact of the U.S. withdrawal last week that losing the U.S. was ‘terrible,’ but member states had ‘tremendous capacity to fill in those gaps.’”
As of Feb. 3, Trump has paused the 25% tariff increase on Mexico and Canada by 30 days. The Trump organization’s reasoning behind these tariffs is to stop the spread and manufacturing of fentanyl between the three countries and adding extreme pressure on illegal immigration into the U.S.
Reported by PBS News they state, “with the tariffs, President Trump is honoring promises that are at the core of his economic and national security philosophy. But the announcement showed his seriousness around the issue as some Trump allies had played down the threat of higher import taxes as mere negotiating tactics.”
Trump has also pushed 10% tariffs on China, which went into effect as of Feb. 3. This is just the start of Trump’s intended budget and tax cuts for the economy.
According to PBS News, “Democrats are sponsoring legislation that would strip the president of his ability to impose tariffs without congressional approval. But that is unlikely to make headway in a Republican-controlled House and Senate.”
In totality President Trump has made a lot of headway in his first weeks in office, with some actions being fought and supported by federal officials and citizens.