Half a Day: The Uncertain Future of Immigration Under Trump

Photo by David Peinado.

Half a day. 

On January 20th, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. And in just half a day, as news outlets globally will tell you, he wasted no time making executive orders, doing good on his campaign promises to his supporters. 

So what’s one of the many things at the top of the agenda? 

Immigration.

President Trump is arguably notorious for his harsh take on immigration, especially at the Mexico-United States border. Despite decades of strides toward cooperation and integration between the two nations at the hands of previous administrations, Trump has claimed that building a wall between the countries, “is not even a difficult thing to do” – and his 2016 campaign was built on the slogan of creating one. 

While the wall wasn't built on January 20th, the nation took significant steps backward regarding immigration and cooperation. 

With a quick visit to whitehouse.gov, you can find that a national emergency at the Southern border was declared. This will result in an increased presence of armed forces at the border, additional physical barriers, unmanned aerial systems, and revisions of current strategies. Using words like “criminal gangs,” “known terrorists,” “human traffickers,” and “smugglers” to describe all immigrants who cross the border, Trump declared that “America’s sovereignty is under attack.” He went on to state that at the hands of illegal immigrants, American women and children are murdered and Americans are terrorized beyond control. 

Food for thought: according to a 2024 study by the National Institute of Justice, “undocumented immigrants are arrested at less than half the rate of native-born U.S. citizens for violent and drug crimes and a quarter the rate of native-born citizens for property crimes”. 

The national emergency is just the beginning. Key issues like birthright citizenship, the 'Remain in Mexico' policy, the federal death penalty, refugee resettlement, and the potential designation of cartels as terrorist organizations are all on the table for Trump’s agenda over the next four years – signaled clearly within his first half day in office.

This half-day has already set the tone for an administration with plans to upend decades of immigration policy. Trump’s rhetoric and actions signal a shift toward greater division, painting immigrants with broad and damaging strokes. For the millions of immigrants who call the United States home – many of whom contribute to the nation’s economy, culture, and communities – this moment ushers in an uncertain future.

The implications extend beyond border security, as debates over human rights, legal protections, and America’s identity as a nation of immigrants take the stage. How the next four years will unfold remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the lives of millions hang in the balance, and this administration’s policies will have lasting consequences not only for immigrants but for the soul of the United States itself.