Latest Trump: Executive orders, DEI shakeup and the US-Mexico border | Donald Trump News

On By Littum

President Donald Trump has ushered in his second term with a flurry of policy moves to reshape the US government.

His executive orders this week address issues including trade, immigration, foreign aid, demographic diversity, civil rights and federal employment practices.

On his third day back in the White House on Wednesday, Trump gave his first televised interview from the Oval Office. Meanwhile, his immigration agenda is in full swing with 1,500 staff deployed Wednesday to Mexico’s southern border.

Here’s a rundown of the latest updates and everything you need to know to navigate Trump’s second term:

All eyes on DEI:

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are facing increasing opposition across the United States and have been placed under formal scrutiny in the federal government.

Adopted in the 1960s and ramped up in the wake of protests across the United States following the 2020 killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by police in Minneapolis, these programs aim to ensure that women and minority groups are not victimized for discrimination in the workplace and given the opportunity for jobs and promotions.

But this is about to change. On Wednesday, Trump directed agency leaders to place officials working on DEI programs in the federal government on paid administrative leave and ordered their offices to close.

The White House ordered all federal DEI workers to go on leave Wednesday at 17:00 (22:00 GMT) when the relevant offices and programs were shut down.

Trump also urged federal employees to inform each other and their departments of any attempts to keep programs operational but hidden. The move builds on an executive order in which he directed an end to what he called “radical and wasteful” federal government DEI programs.

American companies are believed to spend about $8 billion. annually on such equity initiatives.

What has Trump said about DEI?

Trump addressed the program directly during his inauguration speech: “This week, I will also end the government’s policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender in every aspect of public and private life. We will create a society that is colorblind and merit-based .”

What has been the response to Trump’s anti-DEI campaign?

After Trump’s election victory, several prominent companies began to roll back their DEI initiatives. Among them were Walmart, McDonald’s, Amazon and Meta.

Still, some companies, including Costco and Microsoft, are forging ahead with their race and equity programs for now.

Civil and human rights advocacy groups vowed to aggressively challenge Trump’s order.

Trump’s immigration crackdown begins

Trump’s immigration crackdown is underway. Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesse ordered the deployment of 1,500 ground personnel to the border with Mexico on Wednesday.

Congress also passed a bill requiring undocumented immigrants arrested for theft or violent crimes to be jailed while awaiting trial.

The bill, named in honor of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was murdered last year by a Venezuelan man, will next go to the White House to be signed into law.

What has Trump said about immigration?

“All illegal entry will be immediately stopped and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places they came from,” Trump said in his inauguration speech.

What has been the response to Trump’s crackdown on immigration?

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said immigration negotiations have started between Mexico and the United States.

According to a report by Bloomberg News, India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, met with his American counterpart, Marco Rubio, and told reporters that India is open to the legal return of undocumented Indian immigrants. Native Americans are the third largest undocumented immigrant group in the United States, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily press conference at the National Palace in Mexico
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (Jose Mendez/EPA-EFE)

First interview since he returned to the White House

Trump gave his first interview since returning to the White House to Fox News, addressing a range of topics. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Immigration: Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that “prisons from all over the world have been emptied into our country by (former President Joe) Biden allowing it to happen. I don’t even know if he knew what the hell was going on, but who would have this?”
  • TikTok: Trump said TikTok could stay despite a Biden-signed law banning the Chinese-owned social media platform since Sunday over concerns the company poses a national security threat. Trump has played down the prospects for the Chinese government using Americans’ personal data on the app. “They make your phones, and they make your computers, and they make a lot of other things. Isn’t that a bigger threat?” Trump asked.
  • January 6 riot pardon: Responding to questions about pardoning his supporters who violently tried to overturn his 2020 election loss on January 6, 2021 at the US Capitol, Trump stood by his decision, saying: “I said I would release them and probably very quickly , and they voted for me. I won in a landslide.”

Other things you may have missed:

  • Gaza: On Wednesday, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said he will visit Gaza in the coming days as part of what he called an “inspection team” to monitor the ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas last week.
  • Russia: Trump threatened to put “high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on anything sold by Russia to the United States” if Moscow does not agree to a “deal” to end the war in Ukraine. “Fight now and stop this ridiculous war,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It’s only going to get worse.”
  • Secret Service veteran Sean Curran: Trump nominated Curran to head the US Secret Service, the agency that protects current and former presidents and their families. Curran was among the agents who rushed to Trump’s aid after he was shot in the ear in a failed assassination attempt at a July campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Before you go, find our list of all the executive actions Trump took on his first day in office here.