Immigration, gender, climate: Trump’s most controversial executive orders so far

Trump reversed several immigration orders from the Biden presidency, including one that narrowed deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats, or were stopped at the border, Sky News reported.

The executive order also ended the practice of "catch and release", a policy that allows migrants to live in US communities while they await their hearings and ended a policy that stopped immigration authorities from conducting raids on churches and schools, the BBC reported.

Moreover, he declared illegal immigration at the border a national emergency, something that will allow him to send US troops to support immigration agents and restrict refugees and asylum, per Sky News.

Trump also signed an order that attempts to end birthright citizenship, targeting US-born children of undocumented immigrants.

The orders require that the federal government use the term “sex” instead of “gender,” and that official government documents, like passports and visas, “reflect sex accurately,” according to the media outlet, reversing what Biden allowed (to select gender neutral “X” in IDs).

The gender orders, that Trump said are part of a policy that “defends women from gender ideology extremism and restores biological truth,” will also prevent taxpayer funds from being used for gender-transition health care, per the NBC.

Trump also withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement, threatening the goal of avoiding a rise in global temperatures and revoking a 2021 Biden order that aimed to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030 are electric, Sky News reported.

Moreover, Trump signed an order declaring a "national energy emergency" aimed at significantly expanding drilling operations in the country, to eventually emerge as an exporter of energy all over the world.

Among other executive orders issued by Trump in the first day of his presidency, were a halt on the Tik Tok ban, a pardon for Jan 6 capitol rioters and the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO).

But, what is an executive order, and why is it so powerful? It is a written order issued by the president to the federal government that does not require congressional approval.

An executive order however has to work within the confines of the law, which should be reviewed by the Office of Legal Counsel, although this is not always the case, according to an explanatory article by the BBC.

If an order is deemed to stray outside the boundaries of what is acceptable, it can be subject to a legal review, and Congress can also pass a law to override the executive order. However, a president still has a veto over that law.

For this reason, executive orders are controversial, as they bypass approval from Congress, allowing the president to act on his own. This is the reason for Trump critics calling him a dictator and a threat to democracy.

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