Connect with us

Published

on

Donald Trump has said he will declare an emergency at the US-Mexico border as one of a host of executive orders the incoming president will sign on Monday and in the coming days.

Incoming White House officials have said the first wave of executive orders will cover a mix of campaign trail promises, reversals of outgoing President Joe Biden’s policies and restructuring of the federal government workforce.

Trump inauguration latest

One of the most high-profile orders will be Mr Trump declaring a national emergency on the US-Mexico border as part of a wider crackdown on immigration and other cross-border crimes.

Sky News’ US partner NBC News has reported Mr Trump is expected to sign more than 50 executive orders on Monday, and possibly more than 100, citing a person in his transition operation.

Border and immigration

On the border, Mr Trump said he would declare a national emergency in his inaugural speech.

More on Donald Trump

During the inauguration ceremony, Mr Trump said: “All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places they came.

“I will end the practice of catch and release and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.

“Under the orders I sign today we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations.”

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally the day before he is scheduled to be inaugurated for a second term, in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Image:
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally the day before he is scheduled to be inaugurated for a second term.
Pic: Reuters/Carlos Barria

In his first term, Mr Trump did the same after Congress refused to give him the money to build a border wall.

Energy and climate

However, the border emergency is not the only one Mr Trump intends to declare.

During his speech, the president said he would also declare “a national energy emergency”, adding: “We will drill baby drill.”

He continued: “We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.”

NBC News reported this is aimed at expanding the administration’s ability to improve domestic energy production.

Alongside that, he reportedly will: allow more drilling both offshore and on federal lands, end a freeze on liquid natural gas exports and cut off climate-related funding that was approved under the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Biden.

Read more:
A guide to Trump inauguration 2.0
What history says about the ‘special relationship’
Why we all have a stake in Trump
What can we expect from Trump’s second term?

Government workforce

In another executive order, Mr Trump reportedly will implement Schedule F.

This eliminates job protections for potentially thousands of federal workforce positions, which could make it easier to fire them.

Gender and diversity

Matching talking points from the campaign trail, Mr Trump said it would be government policy, through an executive order, that there would only be two genders recognised by the US government – male and female.

Speaking on Martin Luther King Jr Day he also promised to slash diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, saying: “This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.

“We will forge a society that is colour-blind and merit-based.

“As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the US government that there are only two genders, male and female.”

Mr Trump also intends to reverse an order by President Biden that allows transgender people to serve openly in the military in their self-identified gender.

The order also provided greater access to medical care and even support for gender transition.

The Pentagon and military

Alongside that, NBC News said that Mr Trump would reverse two other decisions by the Democrat who beat him in the 2020 election.

One would change the location of the US Space Command headquarters, moving it from Colorado to Alabama.

The other would reverse a 2022 decision that provided paid leave and reimbursed transportation costs for troops and dependents who travelled out of state for abortion and other reproductive care.

TikTok and Hunter Biden

Mr Trump has said he would sign an extension for TikTok to find a buyer, to comply with the law that went into effect on Sunday.

Mr Trump would also reportedly suspend security clearance for 51 national security officials who signed a letter saying that Hunter Biden’s emails and laptop had the hallmarks of a Russian operation.

Continue Reading

US

Donald Trump plans to hit Canada with new tariff – while warning of blanket hike for other countries

Published

on

By

Donald Trump plans to hit Canada with new tariff - while warning of blanket hike for other countries

Donald Trump has said he plans to hit Canada with a 35% tariff on imported goods, as he warned of a blanket 15 or 20% hike for most other countries.

In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the US president wrote: “I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers.”

Mr Trump’s tariffs were allegedly an effort to get Canada to crack down on fentanyl smuggling, and the US president has expressed frustration with Canada’s trade deficit with the US.

In a statement Mr Carney said: “Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1.”

He added: “Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America. We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries.”

Mr Trump has sent a series of tariff letters to 23 countries so far, including one putting a 50% tariff on Brazil in part for the ongoing trial of its former president Jair Bolsonaro for trying to stay in office after he lost the election in 2022.

Mr Trump was similarly indicted for his efforts to overturn his election loss in 2020.

The higher rates would go into effect on 1 August.

Shortly after Mr Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on 2 April, there was a huge sell-off on the financial markets. The US president later announced a 90-day negotiating period, during which a 10% baseline tariff would be charged on most imported goods.

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

But in an interview with Sky News’s partner network NBC News, Mr Trump said he plans to impose higher blanket tariffs on most US trade partners.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” he said.

He added: “I think the tariffs have been very well-received. The stock market hit a new high today.”

The US and UK signed a trade deal in June, with the US president calling it “a fair deal for both” and saying it will “produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income”.

Sir Keir Starmer said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”

Read more:
Trump fires tariff threats at more nations as EU ‘ready’
Palestinian activist detained by ICE suing Trump administration

The US president also teased a “major statement” he will make on Russia over its war with Ukraine.

“I’m disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday.”

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

It comes as Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said a new round of talks between Moscow and Washington on bilateral problems could take place before the end of the summer.

Continue Reading

US

Palestinian activist detained by ICE suing Trump administration for $20m

Published

on

By

Palestinian activist detained by ICE suing Trump administration for m

A Palestinian activist who was detained for over three months in a US immigration jail after protesting against Israel is suing Donald Trump’s administration for $20m (£15m) in damages.

Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil have filed a claim against the administration alleging he was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite as the government sought to deport him over his role in campus protests.

The 30-year-old graduate student at Columbia University told Sky News’s lead world presenter Yalda Hakim being detained by ICE agents in March “felt like kidnapping”.

He described “plain-clothed agents and unmarked cars” taking him “from one place to another, expecting you just to follow orders and shackled all the time”, which he said was “really scary”.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Mahmoud Khalil reunites with family after release

Mr Khalil said he was not presented with an arrest warrant and wasn’t told where he was being taken.

He said the detention centre he was taken to was “as far from humane as it could be” and “a place where you have no rights whatsoever”.

“You share a dorm with over 70 men with no privacy, with lights on all the time, with really terrible food. You’re basically being dehumanised at every opportunity. It’s a black hole,” he added.

Mr Khalil said he would also accept an official apology from the Trump administration.

The Trump administration celebrated Mr Khalil’s arrest, promising to deport him and others whose protests against Israel it declared were “pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity”.

Mr Khalil said after around 36 hours in captivity he was allowed to speak to his wife, who was pregnant at the time.

“These were very scary hours, I did not know what was happening on the outside. I did not know that my wife was safe,” he said.

Read more from Sky News:
Starmer and Macron agree ‘one in, one out’ migrants return deal
Officers who confronted ‘coward’ killer win bravery award

‘Absolutely absurd allegations’

Mr Khalil said administration officials had made “absolutely absurd allegations” by saying he as involved in antisemitic activities and supporting Hamas.

“They are weaponising antisemitism, weaponising anti-terrorism in order to stifle speech,” he said. “What I was engaged in is simply opposing a genocide, opposing war crimes, opposing Columbia University’s complicity in the war on Gaza.”

A State Department spokesperson said its actions toward Mr Khalil were fully supported by the law.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Asked about missing the birth of his son while he was in prison, Mr Khalil said: “I don’t think there’s any word that can describe the agony and the sadness that I went through, to be deprived from such a divine moment, from a moment that my wife and I had always dreamed about.”

Meanwhile, the deportation case against Mr Khalil is continuing to wind its way through the immigration court system.

Continue Reading

US

Donald Trump praises Liberian president’s English – the country’s official language

Published

on

By

Donald Trump praises Liberian president's English - the country's official language

Donald Trump has praised the Liberian president’s command of English – the West African country’s official language.

The US president reacted with visible surprise to Joseph Boakai’s English-speaking skills during a White House meeting with leaders from the region on Wednesday.

After the Liberian president finished his brief remarks, Mr Trump told him he speaks “such good English” and asked: “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”

Mr Trump seemed surprised when Mr Boakai laughed and responded he learned in Liberia.

The US president said: “It’s beautiful English.

“I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”

Mr Boakai did not tell Mr Trump that English is the official language of Liberia.

The country was founded in 1822 with the aim of relocating freed African slaves and freeborn black citizens from the US.

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Mr Trump promised the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau a pivot from aid to trade at the surprise meeting.

He described the countries as “all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people”.

Read more from Sky News:
Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli official
Four dead and ‘many’ kidnapped after Houthi rebels sink ship

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Later asked by a reporter if he’ll visit the continent, Mr Trump said, “At some point, I would like to go to Africa.”

But he added that he’d “have to see what the schedule looks like”.

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, promised to go to Africa in 2023, but only fulfilled the commitment by visiting Angola in December 2024, just weeks before he left office.

Continue Reading

Trending