PHOTO VIA Digital Watch Observatory

On Jan. 20, Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time. As promised, he took action from the very beginning by signing 26 executive orders on Inauguration Day alone, more than any U.S. president before. While many have heralded his actions as bold and reforming a broken system, others have derided his actions to be dangerous and a threat to democracy.

One of Trump’s most significant promises was the implementation of mass deportation to tackle the immigration crisis. This has led to deported immigrants being housed at Guantanamo Bay and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids of sensitive locations such as churches, schools and hospitals. 

Many immigrant communities have started to pull their children out of schools out of fear, and businesses which rely on these communities have seen a decrease in customers. “As much as there is a valid argument that we have an immigration problem in America…I don’t believe that the way the current administration is handling it is humane or proper,” said senior Emi Ren. “The false rhetoric that every single person that is going into this country illegally is here to do nefarious things…is extremely harmful and also villainizes people of color that are coming into this country.” 

On the contrary, it seems Trump’s plans to lower the prices of goods for consumers, which had influenced many to vote for him, has been put on the backburner. Groceries, which were a top concern, have now been said to be a “very hard” issue to solve by Trump, partially due to the bird flu driving egg prices up. 

Other issues regarding lowering prices for customers could be the tariffs Trump has enacted. While they have just been recently implemented, Trump’s 25% tariff on steel and aluminum and 10% tariff on China could not only lead to a trade war, but also, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, raise prices for consumers. “I don’t see the economic benefit of tariffs, especially when you’re implementing tariffs on some of our closest trading partners, like Canada and Mexico. Why start a trade war when you’re trying to reduce inflation and bring down the cost of consumer goods?” said Social Studies Teacher Scott Oberg.

Furthermore, Trump has mentioned the removal of federal workers who do not align with his political goals or beliefs. Many federal workers, including CIA and FBI workers, have been given a choice to resign and get paid through the end of September or face a possible – and likely – firing down the road. While this move was temporarily blocked by a judge, it was re-established, and according to White House, over 40,000 federal workers have taken the deal and resigned. 

Since then, the Trump administration has put around 200,000 federal workers on probation according to the New York Times. They started mass layoffs, firing around 6,700 IRS workers, 2,300 interior department staff and around 2,000 U.S. A.I.D. workers around the world. These actions stem from the goal to save taxpayer money and downsize the government as a whole. However, his tactics are questioned by many. “It’s bad because they’re just firing random people instead of figuring out what the people do. Those [employees] that protect the nuclear weapons, [the administration] accidentally fired them and [he’s] trying to hire them back, but he can’t find them,” said senior James Isaacson.  

Many of Trump’s actions have also been challenged in court. On his first day, Trump signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born to non-citizen parents. “I think his birthright citizenship [order] is especially concerning because it directly infringes on the 14th Amendment,” said Ren. His order was almost instantly blocked by 22 states that sued the administration. Later, Trump’s administration attempted to freeze up to $3 trillion in federal funding in a move that disrupted Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security payments. It was also shot down by a federal judge who temporarily blocked the order.

In regards to foreign policy, Trump has made many controversial statements and moves, including wanting to displace Palestinians in Gaza, buy Greenland from Denmark and rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. “I think one of his strong suits is not foreign policy,” said Isaacson. “He needs to understand that foreign policy doesn’t involve invading and yelling at other countries.” He has also begun talks with Vladimir Putin regarding the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war that noticeably excluded Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president. “I’m confused. In the first month of the Trump administration, one of his campaign promises was to not get involved in foreign entanglements,” said Oberg.

As of now, it is unclear what the rest of Trump’s term will look like and what the long term effects of his actions during presidency will be.