Trump Pardons 1,500 J6 Defendants, Begins Signing Slew of Executive Orders
President Trump took the oath of office today to become the 47th President of the United States. In his first presidential actions, he began issuing a series of executive orders about a wide range of issues, and he issued pardons for about 1,500 defendants charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He said he's also issuing six commutations.
“These are the hostages,” he said while signing the paperwork in the Oval Office.
Earlier in the evening, while speaking to a large crowd at the Capital One arena, he started by rescinding 78 Biden executive orders. Then he signed several orders requiring federal workers to return to in-person work, and ordering every federal department to take action to address the cost of living crisis facing Americans. He also withdrew from the Paris climate treaty, calling it unfair to America, and signed orders to put a stop to censorship of free speech and end the weaponization of the federal government.
Trump then left the arena to head back to the White House to sign a variety of other orders including several which focus on illegal immigration. In his inaugural address, he said he would end the policy of "catch and release" and reinstitute the "remain in Mexico" policy, so those issues are a key part of his border agenda. He signed one executive order to broadly ramp up federal efforts to secure the borders.
Monday night, he also signed orders to essentially shut down the southern border and to designate Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
"By the power vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, I have determined that the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States. Accordingly, I am issuing this Proclamation based on my express and inherent powers in Article II of the Constitution of the United States, and in faithful execution of the immigration laws passed by the Congress, and suspending the physical entry of aliens involved in an invasion into the United States across the southern border until I determine that the invasion has concluded," the order states.
Trump is aiming to achieve several big immigration goals by restricting asylum access, sending troops to protect the southern border, and ending birthright citizenship. He has spoken out before about his desire to end automatic citizenship – for people born in the country whose parents are not citizens – as a means of removing one of the incentives for illegal immigration.
Along those lines, he has now authorized an order to end birthright citizenship, saying, "...the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States."
Many of his orders are expected to be immediately challenged in courts with critics contending his birthright citizenship order could be unconstitutional.
As CBN News has reported, Trump has been widely expected to take additional immediate action to put a stop to the immigration crisis. He has said he will deploy federal authorities to deport those with serious criminal histories or who pose a risk to national security.
But Trump aides have also said immigration officers will arrest others, such as spouses or roommates, who are not targets but happen to be in the country illegally.
MORE: 'Ending Catch-and-Release on Day One': Trump Sets Stage for Historic Deportation Crackdown
Sanctuary cities, which block local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, could be an initial target, especially Chicago. Trump's new border czar had indicated that his initial push would be in "the windy city," the nation's third-largest city.
MORE HERE: Trump Border Czar to Start Mass Deportations in Chicago, Warns Mayor Could Be Prosecuted
About The Author
