President Donald Trump is opening his second term with an unusually large set of executive orders spanning from immigration to energy – although delivering big results in some cases will require more than signed directives.
The president on Monday fulfilled many Day 1 campaign promises with flourishes of his pen, signing executive orders, proclamations, and memos, ranging from pardoning Jan. 6 rioters to announcing national emergencies concerning the southern border and energy.
Among his first steps, the president revoked dozens of executive orders signed by former President Joe Biden. As in his first term, Mr. Trump is directing the country to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which involves commitments to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and to leave the World Health Organization.
Why We Wrote This
President Donald Trump signed a historic number of executive orders on Day 1. Here’s what he did – or so far avoided – that reflects his priorities for the economy, U.S. borders, and social policies.
The executive orders will “begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense,” said Mr. Trump during his Inaugural address.
Legal challenges are likely on a variety of fronts, including his efforts to limit birthright citizenship. On Monday, immigrant advocates sued Mr. Trump over that order, asking a federal court in New Hampshire to declare it unconstitutional.
Immigration and sealing the border
Congress creates immigration law, but presidents have shaped policy through executive action. Mr. Trump declared a national emergency on the southern border Monday, which directs the military to assist with Homeland Security operations, the construction of more border barriers, and the denial of illegal entries.
“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Mr. Trump said. “I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
The Biden administration recorded historically high levels of illegal migration. Despite repeatedly calling out an immigrant “invasion,” however, Mr. Trump resumes office as Border Patrol encounters with unauthorized immigrants at the southern border are down – and lower than when he left office in 2021. Border Patrol encounters, a proxy for illegal border crossings, stood around 47,300 in December. There were 71,100 encounters in December 2020, Mr. Trump’s last full month, by comparison.
The administration is also reinstating a former Trump policy known as Remain in Mexico. The order makes migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. wait in Mexico ahead of their immigration court dates. Immigrant advocates decried the policy, arguing it left asylum-seekers stranded in dangerous conditions in Mexico. Mr. Trump has also ordered the end of using a mobile app, CBP One, for initial appointments at official ports of entry that can result in migrants lawfully being let in through parole. The new administration is also ending parole programs for certain nationalities, including Venezuelans.
Through another executive order, Mr. Trump seeks to withhold birthright citizenship from children born to unauthorized immigrants. He attempts this by upending a longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment, and directing the government not to issue or recognize documents that would affirm citizenship against Mr. Trump’s new reading. (That policy begins with children born in the U.S. starting in 30 days.) Critics, including many legal scholars, say that Mr. Trump’s change would require action from beyond the White House – essentially a major Supreme Court ruling or a constitutional amendment.
Illegal immigration isn’t his only target, however. The president is also curtailing a longstanding legal pathway by temporarily suspending refugee resettlement as of Jan. 27. Unlike asylum-seekers, refugees are approved for protection in the U.S. before they arrive, and are heavily vetted.
Citing local bandwidth and security concerns, the order says refugees would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” The U.S. admitted just over 100,000 refugees in fiscal year 2024, the most in three decades.
Mr. Trump is pursuing “exactly what he promised,” says Gabriel Chin, an immigration law scholar at the University of California Davis School of Law. While significant legal pushback is expected, and curbing birthright citizenship is a “heavy lift,” he says, Mr. Trump does have “a lot of authority over the border.”
Economy: Studying tariffs, expanding energy supplies
Ever since he burst onto the political scene, President Trump has upset political norms and remade the GOP in his image. But bending the economy to his will may prove more difficult. The laws of economics keep getting in the way.
Take tariffs – a signature issue for the president. On his first day in office, he declined to impose the new tariffs on allies and adversaries that he had been hinting at for months. Instead, he signed an executive order to study the issue and voiced more threats for China, the European Union, Canada, and Mexico.
At some point, he will have to make clear where his tariffs will fall and how comprehensive they’ll be, so that international supply chains can adjust. Tariffs would make imported products more expensive, hitting U.S. consumers and companies alike.
The administration hopes that companies will avoid possible tariffs by moving manufacturing to the United States and boosting jobs. But some consumer goods are so low-cost that firms would find it impossible to turn a profit using high-priced American workers. If the administration issues blanket tariffs, then consumers will end up paying more for washing machines, cars, and everyday goods such as toys and T-shirts.
In similar fashion, the law of supply and demand complicates Mr. Trump’s immigration policies. His deportation moves, if successful, would substantially reduce the 8 million workforce of immigrants estimated to be in the United States illegally. A smaller supply of workers will lead to higher wages, if demand remains the same. That’s welcome news for low-skill, low-paid native workers hit hard by more than 40 years of free-trade policy. The tradeoff is that higher pay will mean higher costs for businesses and consumers still struggling with the surge in prices during the previous administration.
In both cases, higher prices pose a political danger for Mr. Trump. Americans who voted against the Democrats because of inflation during the Biden administration may do the same to congressional Republicans in 2026 if inflation begins climbing again.
In a third area, the law of supply and demand could help the new president. On Monday, he declared a national energy emergency and issued executive orders aimed at boosting oil and gas drilling and bringing down energy prices. More supply should bring down gasoline and other energy prices. How much is an open question, analysts say. Prices are already low, and drillers are cutting the number of oil and natural gas rigs. Will they drill more if prices go even lower?
Pardons for Jan. 6 defendants
Following through on a campaign promise, Mr. Trump issued pardons for over 1,000 criminal defendants charged in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol. He also commuted the sentences of 14 people who were convicted or charged with seditious conspiracy in relation to the event.
Since his re-election, the so-called “J6ers” had eagerly awaited pardons from Mr. Trump. The following months had brought mixed signals, however. Mr. Trump had declined to confirm if only those convicted of misdemeanors would be pardoned or violent offenders as well. Vice President JD Vance said last week that Jan. 6 defendants responsible for violence “obviously” would not be pardoned, though he later walked those comments back.
Now the answer has arrived: “a full, complete and unconditional pardon” for all individuals “convicted of offenses related to” Jan. 6. This includes over 200 people who pleaded guilty to felonies, including Julian Khater, who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers with a dangerous weapon, and Robert Palmer, who pleaded guilty to the same charge after attacking police officers with a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher.
The 14 commutations reduce sentences for a number of leaders of far-right extremist groups. Stewart Rhodes, a founder of the Oath Keepers militia group, had his 18-year prison sentence commuted. Jessica Watkins, an Oath Keeper who described herself at her sentencing as “just another idiot running around the Capitol,” saw her 8.5-year sentence commuted. Enrique Tarrio, the founder of the Proud Boys militia group, was being processed for release from prison tonight, NBC News reported.
“Tomorrow everybody…will be very happy with my decision on the J6 hostages,” Trump teased at a post-inauguration rally on Monday night.
Diversity and gender
Mr. Trump also signed two executive orders his administration labeled as “restoring common sense” to the country.
One order targets recent cultural conflicts over transgender rights and sex classifications. The directive broadly instructs federal agencies to enforce laws in a way that treats men and women as biologically distinct sexes, and ensure that federal funds are not spent promoting “gender ideology,” according to an incoming White House official. “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the order reads.
Specifically, the executive order will reverse a policy that saw taxpayer money subsidize sex transition procedures for transgender federal inmates. Per the order, federal documents like passports and visas will be required to reflect the holder’s biological sex.
Another order being signed by Mr. Trump will roll back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, policies, and positions in the federal government.
Mr. Biden issued his own set of executive orders upon entering the White House that instructed federal agencies to improve their hiring of minorities and women. His administration also prioritized tackling systemic inequities, such as “environmental justice” initiatives that sought to address poor air and water quality that disproportionately affects minority communities.
The Trump administration, describing these programs and policies as expensive and ineffective, will be rolling them back. President Trump will “end the onslaught of useless and overpaid DEI activists buried into the federal workforce,” according to guidance his administration shared with members of Congress.
How effective the order will be is unclear, however. There are 2.2 million federal civilian employees, and the majority are subject to strict civil service regulations.
“He doesn’t really have control over [many] employees. But there’s a lot of symbolism here,” says Norma Riccucci, a professor at Rutgers University who studies the federal workforce.
“Maybe the term ‘DEI’ will go away, but I don’t think [the practice] is going to go away,” she adds. “You’re not going to see state and local governments pull back from their commitment to diversity. You’re not going to see it in the private sector.”
