This past Monday, Jan. 20, Donald Trump took the oath of office for the second time. Unlike his first presidency, which was largely unexpected by him and the general public, he has come into office with a plan.
On Monday, Inauguration Day, President Trump signed 20 executive orders and actions. This is more than any previous US president. One of these actions was granting full pardons to the hundreds of convicted criminals who invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This includes people who assaulted police officers during the riots.
The majority of these executive orders involved governmental changes and immigration. Trump is making good on the many promises he made on the campaign trail leading up to the 2024 election. This includes shutting down the southern border and carrying out mass deportation through military force.
President Trump has stopped the refugee arrival program, ramped up ICE raids and perhaps most controversially, tried to redefine birthright citizenship, which has been historically protected under the 14th Amendment. A judge has temporarily blocked the president’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.”
By shutting down the CBP One app, which let asylum seekers set up appointments to start a legal immigration process to the United States, over 30,000 appointments were canceled for those waiting in Mexico. The app was launched two years ago and it is estimated over 1 million appointments have been made since its creation.
Denver is likely to be one of the top targeted cities by ICE raids given its sanctuary city status, which President Trump has repeatedly criticized. Trump has also threatened to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities like Denver if they continue to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
Rumours of ICE raids have spread across the state, with people in Pueblo claiming that ICE agents are stopping cars and knocking on doors.
On Jan. 24, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said Denver would sue the Trump administration if ICE agents detained Denver residents at schools, churches, hospitals and other “sensitive locations.”
Denver Public Schools also released a statement in support of immigrant communities. It assures parents that the school is still a “sensitive location” and that is not going to change.
The University of Denver put out a statement in the beginning of January in unwavering support of the immigrant communities at DU. They have not released a statement since the Trump administration launched its nationwide immigration enforcement effort.
