Donald Trump signed multiple executive orders when he ruled as president. The president ruled over three essential areas – immigration, trade, and economic policies – through these orders. Some of Trump’s commands got positive feedback, while other actions got people into an argument. People strongly disagreed about how the executive order changed laws on people who were born in the US.
What Are Executive Orders?
As president, the person gives commands through orders they make. They let the president put new rules into place without waiting for Congress to approve them. Every executive order has to obey the Constitution. They can be attacked in court if they aren’t taught to respect the constitution.
He achieved his campaign goals by creating executive orders. He tried to speed up his changes by adjusting both laws and regulations.
Birthright Citizenship and Trump’s Executive Order
Since 1914, The law automatically gives citizenship to anyone who is born on American soil. From the day they enter the world, any child born in the U.S. will automatically receive American citizenship, without depending on who their parents are. The Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantees that birth in America automatically gives anyone citizenship.
Trump wanted to revise this rule. He believed that Americans were wrongly using birthright citizenship to gain citizenship. His order sought to strip automatic U.S. citizenship from children born to parents who were not American citizens.
What Is Birthright Citizenship?
Starting in 1868, the 14th Amendment made birthright citizenship part of U.S. law. The law gave the children of freed slaves the same rights as U.S. citizens. There are two main ways to get citizenship by birth, By being born in the U.S. When someone is born inside the United States they automatically acquire citizenship by being ‘of the soil’ of this place. Children born to U.S. citizens anywhere in the world automatically become citizens, according to U.S. law. Under this principle, known as jus sanguinis, parents’ citizenship passes to their children.
Trump targeted the first method. He thought the policy brought in illegal immigrants and needed to be controlled.
Trump’s Order and Its Impact
Trump’s signed document said natural-born U.S. citizenship shouldn’t apply to every newborn. He claimed that kids born to immigrants who don’t have legal status or travelers passing through America don’t need to follow U.S. laws, so they shouldn’t automatically become citizens.
This order sparked immediate criticism. Groups working for immigrants argued that this change would separate families. Using an executive order doesn’t change the meaning of the 14th Amendment, legally speaking, according to what experts understand.
Trump’s First-Day Executive Orders
Trump started his term as president by immediately signing multiple executive orders. On his first day, Trump used executive orders to undo what had been done before. Trump’s immigration orders were meant to cut down on the number of immigrants trying to come to the United States. Some of his key actions included:
- He made efforts to change federal law so that only children born in America get citizenship.
- Trump’s government sought to deport illegal immigrants’ entire families, including American babies born to them.
- Working to make border protection better.
Trump made two moves: he signed orders to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico’s products. He put on duty fees for imports from those countries. The president said these import fees would help keep American producers safe from foreign competition.
Global Reactions to Trump’s Policies
His executive orders made global headlines the most in Canada, Mexico, and Europe. People strongly protested when Trump put new trade taxes on imports coming from Mexico and Canada. Trudeau warned Mexico and Canada that they should not obey unfair trade rules, while Mexico’s leaders criticized Trump’s idea to rename the Gulf of Mexico “the Gulf of America.” Business leaders from Europe and China told Trump they worried his trade plans might cause worldwide economic problems. Free trade is essential for Germany’s economy and helps nations work better with one another, according to their Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Economic Impacts of Trump’s Orders
The economy changed differently when Trump implemented executive orders. The stock market liked Trump’s business-friendly policies, especially when he made promises to keep American companies successful. His U.S. push to drill for more oil caused worldwide oil prices to decrease because producers were pumping out too much.
Trump’s decision to raise export tariffs frightened businesses worldwide and created confusion among investors.
Challenges in Implementing Trump’s Policies
Most of Trump’s orders ran into trouble both in court and in reality. His birthright citizenship order came right into conflict with lawyers who filed lawsuits to challenge it. Lawyers said the president can’t use executive orders to cancel what’s written in the Constitution. His actions showed that the president only has a certain level of authority to use.
Public Reaction to Trump’s Leadership
People didn’t agree about how they felt about Trump’s executive orders. Many Americans backed Trump’s strong management moves. People thought he was actually keeping his campaign promises to defend the nation. Many people condemned his leadership style because they said his decisions were damaging and pulled the country apart. They expressed strong opposition to his rules, saying they broke the US Constitution and didn’t respect basic human rights.
The directions Trump ordered made permanent changes in how the country handled things. His proposals to change who can be born as U.S. citizens brought up big conversations across the nation about how people get citizenship and their basic legal protections. Backers of Trump think he made important and effective decisions. While in office, he caused many arguments and people opposed each other.
Conclusion
Trump’s executive orders became some of the most widely argued about actions during his entire presidency. Trump’s policies on birthright citizenship and tariffs led to big changes in America’s government actions and made countries around the world pay attention.
His fans admired his direction while his enemies worried about his approach breaking laws and being flatly unfair. President Trump’s use of executive orders showed how much power he could exercise, but also showed us where that power stopped.
