It has now been two weeks since President Donald Trump took office for his second term. In the past two weeks, the nation has seen countless executive orders signed and rescinded. These orders include but are not limited to, attacks on migrants, DEI practices and unnecessary tariffs.
During the election, Trump heavily ran on the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. One of his first executive orders was focused on immigration and border control. This order details that migrants are no longer allowed “to remain in the U.S. while awaiting their immigration court proceedings.” It also got rid of the Customs and Border Patrol One app. The CBP One app was the “primary avenue for migrants to pre-schedule asylum screenings at ports of entry.”
Since 2023, the app has helped nearly 1 million migrants enter the U.S. legally. The app being shut down left hundreds of thousands of migrants stranded as they had hearings cancelled. This so-called “crackdown” on immigration does nothing to help migrants enter the U.S. legally, rather makes it a longer and harder process.
On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” essentially removing all DEI hiring practices and positions at the federal level. Through this, thousands of people are losing their jobs due to the mislabeling of being “DEI hires.” With the label of “DEI hires” comes the harmful idea that minorities can only be hired to fill a quota and not because they are qualified.
As a result of the executive order, Trump also tried to pause federal funding and grants. This order would’ve affected most of the nation seeing that it paused funding for programs like school meals for low income students and mine inspections. This pause was to make sure that the loans and grants were going towards programs that aligned with Trump's agenda. A federal judge has since blocked the order due to constitutional violations and 22 Attorney Generals have filed lawsuits against the order. These lawsuits state that the President cannot pause funding that has been approved by Congress.
One of Trump's latest actions is adding tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China. Trump created these tariffs for three main reasons: “to raise revenue, to bring trade into balance and to bring rival countries to the negotiating table.” In addition to those reasons, Trump also stated that the tariffs are “intended to reduce the flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl over the border, as well as of migrants.” However, little of these illegal drugs and immigration come from Canada. On Monday, Trump paused the tariffs on Mexico after the stock market fell. In retaliation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada will impose tariffs on American goods as well.
Some other orders Trump has enacted include withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization. Fellow columnists Abby Waechter and Ethan Herx wrote in-depth pieces on how withdrawing from those organizations is harmful and dangerous. In Trump's first two weeks in office he signed countless executive orders, none of which makes the lives of Americans easier. These orders have and will continue to cause irreparable damage for immigrants and minorities.
Cassie is a junior studying communications at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Cassie? Email her at cb086021@ohio.edu.
