Donald Trump started his second term in office by signing dozens of executive orders in an attempt to reshape the country and undo much of President Joe Biden’s legacy.
Many of the orders were expected because of pledges Trump made running for president. But Columbia students and Chicago residents told the Chronicle they had mixed feelings about what he was trying to accomplish.
Trump signed more than 40 executive orders since he was inaugurated three days ago. By comparison in 2017, the first year of his first term, he signed 55 all year. The White House provided a full list of the presidential actions since he was inaugurated on Monday, Jan. 20.
The nation’s attention was dually held on Inauguration Day, as it took place on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Dr. Sam Tahba, a dentist from Logan Square, was conflicted about the timing. After being in the U.S. for 30 years and holding dual citizenship with Iran, Tahba said he felt the inauguration overshadowed the holiday.
“I regard Dr. King highly and all he did for Civil Rights,” Tahba said. “I do not know if the new administration will continue to honor all the work that’s been done in the past for people of color.”
While unable to watch the inauguration due to his work schedule, Benjamin Munson from Irving Park was closely following the news. Munson said that he was scared for the future of the country and the world, with several topics in his concern, including Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship.
He also was concerned after Trump restricted immigration. Munson said he fears a future of “citizenship with qualifications.”
“These people are ideologues, so who they consider a person is going to be much more, I think, selective and exclusionary,” he said. “That’s a dangerous precedent to set.”
He also signed orders to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization and issued an order declaring the federal government would only recognize the sex assigned to a baby at birth.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, Jerry Tarrer, Columbia’s interim president and CEO, sent an email to the campus community in response to Trump’s orders on immigration.
He said the college has a process in place designed to ensure any campus-related requests by immigration or other government officials are handled within the law.
“Columbia is determined to remain a supportive and inclusive community while adhering to federal rules, regulations and laws,” he said in the email.
He also encouraged students needing extra support to talk to faculty members or contact the Center for Well Being.
Many of the executive orders are already being challenged in court and some, like a freeze on federal hiring, are in effect for 90 days.
Robert Watkins, associate professor of political science at Columbia College, pointed out that this birthright executive order is currently being challenged by 22 states, including Illinois. He said that he will be closely following the court’s response to those challenges as the executive order develops.
“The challenge isn’t likely unexpected by the administration, it’s part of what they are counting on,” Watkins said. “So as the term proceeds, I’ll be focusing on how the courts respond, and ultimately, how the Supreme Court responds when cases make it there, because I’m sure the administration is seeking to test the Court.”
On Thursday, Jan. 23, a federal judge temporarily blocked it.
Alyse Haddad, a sophomore film and television major, was trying to understand the reasoning behind Trump’s immigration stance and policies. She worried about the impact it will have on immigrants.
“I like to see both sides, and I can see his way of thinking a little bit. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though,” Haddad said. “There are a ton of jobs that I wouldn’t want to do, that a lot of immigrants take and they need those jobs. I just wish we could do more to help them. My heart goes out to them.”
Senior graphic design major Isaac Carter was worried about Trump’s second term.
“We saw Trump make plenty of bold promises for America going forward, saying we are entering the golden age of America, that we will be the envy of every other nation around us,” he said. “Now whether or not that remains to be true, his past presidential term doesn’t really hold starkly true for these addresses.”
Haddad was also having a hard time being optimistic about the future. She said, as a 19-year-old, she feels that there’s not much she can do to make a difference.
“He’s a good businessman. That’s what he is, so hopefully our economy will improve,” she said. “We just have to look on the bright side of things. None of us are really in power, so there’s not a lot we can do. We just gotta keep moving forward.”
Additional reporting by Samantha Ho, Uriel Reyes and Greer Stewart.
Copy edited by Manuel Nocera
Resumen en Español
La inauguración del Presidente Donald Trump el 20 de enero ha causado un gran mezclado de sentimientos en el país, y la gente de Chicago y de Columbia College han expresado preocupación. Muchos están preocupados por el tema de las políticas de la inmigración de Trump, como se implementó la orden ejecutiva para cerrar la frontera a los inmigrantes el 22 de enero. También, mucha gente ha expresado incertidumbres por su postura de la ciudadanía por nacimiento, después de que él dijo que se lo quería terminar en una entrevista con Axios en 2018.
Resumen por Sofía Oyarzún
Copia editada por Manuel Nocera