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METEA MEDIA

Trump’s executive orders show the future of his presidency

Trumps+executive+orders+show+the+future+of+his+presidency

On Jan. 20, Donald Trump was inaugurated as our 45th President of the United States. He will now be in office for at least the next four years, and will become an instrumental figure in the upcoming future of America.

Trump has wasted no time in using his power as the president, as of writing, he has already signed 18 policy based executive orders. Those executive orders were signed in the span of 11 days. At this rate, Trump appears to be a president who liberally uses the powers of executive action in order to push change forward. This isn’t necessarily bad, as one of the greatest U.S. presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was notorious for his use of the executive order and brought in good results. It all depends on the nature of change brought on by the orders. Let’s take a look at some of the most pressing of the 18 executive orders, and see what they tell us of the America to come.

In his first order, Trump put in place an order that supposedly limits the economic burden of the Affordable Care Act. This allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the heads of other related agencies to delay or forgo the implementation of any provisions in the Affordable Care Act that would burden a state financially.

This order provides us a taste of what is to come with the future of the Affordable Care Act. The loose wording of the order means that it can apply to nearly any of the ACA provisions, meaning that necessary provisions tied to the ACA can just be swept away, killing the system with it. This is not a surprise however, as Trump was a massive opponent of the Affordable Care Act and said he would try to get rid of it during his campaign.

One of the executive orders has also reinstated the “Mexico City” Policy, or the global gag rule. This rule has been reinstated by every Republican President since Reagan, and states that the U.S. will not give any funding to foreign family planning organizations that provide abortions. Trump has extended this policy to any medical organization that has ties to abortions.

This reinstatement can do massive damage to not only to women’s health, but also global health problems. Abortion is a very sensitive topic for obvious reasons, but punishing organizations that give aid to areas in the world facing health epidemics can cause massive repercussions across the world.

Trump has now also officially pulled America out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This was a deal promoted by Obama and his administration that allowed for free trade across the Pacific, and made it easier for companies to gain extra profits by avoiding tariffs and by allowing them to easily shift production and labor forces across these countries.

This actually quite good of Trump to do. By opting us out of this deal, not only has he helped keep one of his promises of keeping jobs on American soil, but also helped prevent the cheap labor in other countries to be exploited by our large corporations. We may lose out on some of the economic gains of such a massive trade deal, and may have to endure higher prices for our own goods, but it is a worthy price to help support both the American and the international worker.

Trump has allowed for both the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline to continue construction. This is by far the most overlooked executive order that was announced by far. For those that do not know, both of these are transcontinental oil pipelines are meant to tap into oil reserves and carry them across the US. This construction has environmental issues that these lumbering constructs carry with them. Pipelines like these, if there is a spill or leak, can cause catastrophic damage to the environment surrounding the area. It isn’t some small chance of this happening either. Just this year, there has already been 4 separate occasions fuel pipeline accidents, and we are only a month into 2017. Considering the length of both of these pipelines, which happens to be quite large, an accident seems like an inevitability.

Not only do these pipelines show signs of being an environmental hazard, but the Dakota Access Pipeline crosses straight through Native American reservations. Building on to these lands, which of will happen thanks to the continuing of its construction, will violate our federal jurisdiction, but also be another instance of the U.S. infringing on the rights of Native Americans, and add to our already rocky history with the native people.

Trump has signed an executive order for our border security with Mexico-not to many people’s surprise. This order includes building detention centers on the border with Mexico to make decisions on the claims of illegal immigrants, hire 5,000 border patrol officers, and most importantly, start construction of the wall. He also signed an order that same day to crack down on illegal immigrants within the country.

These two orders were the main basis for Trump’s early campaign, and those early campaign promises were the same fuel that burned in the Trump hate train, and justifiably so. Not only is the extra border security and the wall going to cost a ludicrous amount of money to the point where the value reaches its peak diminishing point, but it also attacks illegal immigrants who came illegally as their only option. They came here seeking a better life, like our ancestors did, and did so in any way possible. While they did enter the country illegally, and some may not have the best intentions, throwing them out with little justification and not providing a path to citizenship is just tarnishing the very basis of the United States itself.

The struggle of illegal immigrants also relates to the impact of another one of Trump’s executive orders: the changes to refugee holding and international travel. In this order, it is stated that not only reduces the number of refugee intake by over half of our original intake, but also bars people from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Syria from immigrating for 90 days.

This was another one of the big principles of the Trump campaign, and it also resulted in a understandable amount of backlash. The refugee cap reduction seriously hurts those who seek refuge away from war torn countries such as Syria. The travel ban, however, has more dire consequences. While many of the terrorist organization that oppose our country come from those regions, not everybody traveling from those areas to the U.S. is out to get us. Many are just visiting friends and family or just harmless tourists. Denying them the right to travel to the United States based solely on the fact that they live in a certain area of the world tarnishes the American ideals possibly even more than the previous immigration blockades Trump has signed for.

Taking all of this into consideration, it seems that Donald Trump has fully attempted to keep up on all of his promises. He is building the wall and cracking down on illegal immigrants who may have done nothing wrong. He has barred people from multiple countries with a Muslim majority from entering the county. He has worked to undo what the Obama administration has attempted to do for the country. He has also attempted to help the American worker by removing trade deals that work against them. Trump has been implementing his vision of America over these 11 days. Whether that be a dream come true or a nightmare rearing its ugly head, it’s a fact. This is Trump’s America. Not a Republican America. Not a people’s America. Not even Pence’s America. This is the United States as Trump envisions it. That will be our future.

View Comments (16)
About the Contributor
Liam Sweeney, Perspectives Editor
Liam Sweeney is a senior at Metea Valley and the Perspectives Editor for the school magazine. He is a political independent, as he refuses to align with any of the mainstream political parties. Music dominates Liam’s life as he is a lover of all rock music, with his favorite genres being garage rock and punk rock. Liam also plays guitar and wishes to be in his own band in the near future.

Comments (16)

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  • M

    MichaelFeb 1, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    whoa that article writing though! gg

    Reply
  • A

    A happy citizenFeb 1, 2017 at 11:59 am

    So happy he’s in office (:

    Reply
  • A

    A History MajorFeb 1, 2017 at 9:39 am

    I honestly think that you needed to do more research. As a declared History Major I study the topics that I am going to write about extensively before I type a single character. While you are correct on some of the Executive orders and what they entail, others you have misinterpreted them and did not summarize what they enact.
    First off, several highly respected and credible news sources have reported that the Executive order on Abortion actually prevents foreign countries from providing funding for abortion in the US. The EO does not do as you said in the paragraph above, it prevents other countries from interfering with the US health system. Also, Trump is not going to even be able to end abortion. Ronald Reagan, who was pro-life, was not able to end abortion and he even appointed pro-life justices.
    Second, the executive order that he signed about illegal immigration is permitting the deportation of illegal immigrants that are criminals. It has been reported by multiple sources that he will at this point only deport those who are detrimental to society. It also baffles me why people do not want to deport criminals, do people actually want people who incite violence and drug use to stay in the country, because that is the result of the criminals.
    Third off, most of the people who are traveling from the middle east are most likely not tourists, considering that most of the tourist that come from out of the country come from either china, as reported by many studies and confirmed by government sources, or Europe.

    Please just report the facts.

    Reply
    • S

      Someone who is also studying History in College (which is irrelevant either way)Feb 1, 2017 at 2:58 pm

      While I agree with some of your points like the unlikelihood of Trump striking down abortion policies, I take issue to a few points. You mentioned in your comment that it “baffles you why people do not want to deport criminals”. It is not dealing with crime or criminals that people take issue to. It is racist policies that clearly target Hispanics, people from the middle east, and ethnic minorties in general where the issue arises. Also, the fact that most tourists in the US do not come from the middle east does not mean that most people from the middle east are not tourists. However, more than likely, they are not tourists but refugees. Regardless, this is irrelevant as the author did not say that they are literally all tourists, but simply provided that as an example.

      Reply
      • S

        supFeb 2, 2017 at 9:22 pm

        but if they came to the country ILLEGALLY that does not make it racist to deport them its just kinda ignorant to say deporting all ILLEGAL immigrants that are Hispanic or middle eastern is racist

        Reply
  • G

    Go DAPLFeb 1, 2017 at 9:18 am

    appreciated the article except for the Pipeline parts and the last paragraph, but here are just some facts about the Dakota Access pipeline
    The entire Dakota Access Pipeline is buried underground.
    The Dakota Access Pipeline does not cross Standing Rock Sioux reservation land.
    Lake Oahe currently contains eight other pipelines, including existing non-DAPL dual 42-inch pipelines operating since 1982.
    Pipelines like Dakota Access are proven to be safer than rail or truck transportation of crude.
    The Dakota Access Pipeline can eliminate up to 500-740 rail cars, and/or 250+ trucks needed to transport crude every day.
    The water source for Standing Rock Sioux will be over 70 miles from the pipeline by early 2017.

    Reply
    • M

      Moral HeroFeb 3, 2017 at 8:48 am

      Say it to my face kiddo

      Reply
  • C

    Caleb EscuderoFeb 1, 2017 at 8:52 am

    I’d like to start by saying I’m by no means a trump supporter. However, there were many flaws with your paragraph on immigration. You do realize that you are arguing for ILLEGAL immigrants right? You stated that they were deported without justification, when in actuality, the justification is the fact that they entered the country illegally. While I understand that many of them are escaping bad lives, this does not give them the right to come into our country illegally. Furthermore, you stated that removing these immigrants tarnishes the basis of the United States, as the founders immigrated from different places. However, these people did so legally, not illegally. You are implying that by Trump removing these illegal aliens, that he is cutting off all immigration into the country, which is simply not true. There are legal ways to come into the country and earn citizenship.

    Reply
    • A

      AnonymousFeb 1, 2017 at 3:03 pm

      This country was founded by immigrants who came to the North America, settled in already claimed land, killed or enslaved the natives, and then violently revolted against the government to declare independence… I’m pretty sure that isn’t legal.

      Reply
      • G

        Gary WinthorpeFeb 2, 2017 at 2:44 pm

        Do you know the difference between illegal immigrants and lawful immigrants?

        Reply
      • S

        supFeb 2, 2017 at 9:17 pm

        well you see the people that came to set up america came to set up a new civilization and yes there were some wrongs in there but there were no laws saying that going to north america was illegal but there are now laws up against people just barging into the country and taking jobs that legal citizens could have

        Reply
      • Z

        ZRFeb 3, 2017 at 9:53 am

        Completely irrelevant… Events that happened over 200 years ago have no relevance. Please… find a new argument to use.

        Reply
      • C

        check ya logicFeb 3, 2017 at 10:05 am

        So because our founders came and did horrible things all those years ago means that immigrants should be able to come do horrible things today? check ya logic homie

        Reply
  • C

    ChromaFeb 1, 2017 at 8:29 am

    “to not only to women’s health,” “4 separate occasions fuel pipeline ” ” which of will happen ” ” it is stated that not only reduces”.
    This was a really great summary of the recent events pertaining to Trump. Great work, Lima

    Reply
  • T

    The Charles Barnes, not hiding behind a screen name.Feb 1, 2017 at 8:29 am

    I believe there’s a huge contrast between protecting our border and being purely ignorant. Even as a conservative, I believe Trump’s traveling ban is not doing much for our “protection.” I’ve never been personally victimized by someone who originates from one of those seven countries. Despite this, I think it’s important and perfectly reasonable for our border to be secured from actual terrorists and harmful individuals. It’s not even feasible for us to identify each terrorists, but it’s also not sensible for us to generalize an entire nation. People have families, folks. We can vet, we can background check but we can’t close nation’s doors. People come here knowing that we are the land of the free and opportunity, but they can’t pursue such a thing if they’re banned from entering. Now. Obama in 2011, reexamined over 50,000 refugees.. he did not freeze Iraq’s immigrants for a certain amount of time

    Reply
    • M

      Marcus CooperMar 13, 2017 at 2:19 pm

      But we don’t encourage freedom. We cannot be united and discriminate against everyone. Once this changes we will be called a free country.

      Reply
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Trump’s executive orders show the future of his presidency