Make America great again?
kiara rennie, contributor
When I hear the name Donald Trump the first thing that comes to mind is a white rich man with power. On Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, Trump started his term as the 47th president of the United States of America and made a number of changes in the first week following his inauguration.
Trump has been very passionate about the immigration rates in the United States from the beginning of his campaign. He has already announced a “Remain in Mexico” policy that requires “non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico pending the resolution of their U.S cases.”
Donald Trump sees immigrants in “his” country as a problem and wants them out of the country. Many including myself, however, believe that immigrants are the backbone to the economy and infrastructure of many countries. In the same week as his “Remain in Mexico” policy, Trump also reinstated the death penalty for immigrants with illegal status who commitserious crimes. Along with Trump’s passion for deportation, he also signed an executive order to redefine of birthright citizenship in the U.S. so that a child born in the U.S. to a mother and a father who are not U.S citizens will not be considered a citizen of America.
Soon after his inauguration, Trump also reversed restrictions on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection to carry out arrests in sensitive locations. This means that these agencies can now raid schools, churches and hospitals. aParents and guardians have been anxious to send their kids to school ever since the news was announced. Under Trump’s leadership, the Department of Homeland Security said, “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.” The 47th president of the United States is insinuating that all immigrants are criminals without any concrete proof to support the argument.
Trump also signed a policy that only recognizes two sexes/genders on government documents, taking away a person’s right to choose their own identity. Speaking of taking things away, President Trump also withdrew America’s participation from the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement on climate change. The official website for The White House states that Trump’s administration withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) “due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.” Trump stated the reason behind withdrawing from the Paris Agreement was that such agreements “do not reflect our country’s values or our contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives,” according to a BBC report.
Within just one week since his inauguration, Trump has made plenty of new policies and signed a number of executive orders. I will say, although many people including myself do not agree on many of his views or polices, he moves at a fast and motivated pace as a president who wants to do what he thinks is best for the country.
