AFP USA

US President Donald Trump granted pardons on Monday to more than 1,500 of his supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a bid to overturn the results of the 2020 election.Trump, just hours after taking office, also ordered that all pending criminal cases against Capitol riot defendants be dropped.Among those receiving a pardon was Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for directing a military-style assault on the Capitol.Stewart Rhodes, the leader of another far-right group, the Oath Keepers, had his 18-year prison sentence commuted to time served. Both Tarrio and Rhodes had been convicted of seditious conspiracy.Describing the rioters as “hostages,” Trump said at a White House signing ceremony that he had granted “full pardons” to more than 1,500 defendants.”We hope they come out tonight, frankly,” he said.A total of 1,583 people were charged in connection with the assault on Congress by Trump supporters seeking to disrupt certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.Trump repeatedly pledged during his election campaign to pardon those who took part in the attack, calling them “patriots” and “political prisoners.”Trump, whose first term as president ended under the cloud of the Capitol assault, has repeatedly played down the violence of January 6, even going so far as to describe it as a “day of love.”More than 140 police officers were injured in hours of clashes with rioters wielding flagpoles, baseball bats, hockey sticks and other makeshift weapons along with Tasers and canisters of bear spray.- ‘Outrageous insult’ -The Capitol assault followed a fiery speech by then-president Trump to tens of thousands of his supporters near the White House in which he repeated his false claims that he won the 2020 race.He then encouraged the crowd to march on Congress.Former Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the pardons, calling them “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol.””It is shameful that the president has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power,” Pelosi said.Trump was charged by special counsel Jack Smith with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.But the case never made it to trial, and ahead of the inauguration was dropped under the Justice Department’s policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.Trump’s move on Monday granted a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to everyone convicted of involvement in the riot and ordered the immediate release of those still in prison.He commuted to time served the sentences of nine members of the Oath Keepers, including the founder Rhodes. Five members of the Proud Boys also had their sentences commuted.- ‘Unrelenting attacks’ -Biden, before leaving office on Monday, issued preemptive pardons to former Covid advisor Anthony Fauci, retired general Mark Milley and close family members to shield them from “politically motivated prosecutions” by the Trump administration.Biden gave similar pardons to former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney and other members of the congressional committee that investigated the Capitol attack.Just minutes before Trump was sworn in, Biden announced he was issuing pardons to his brother James Biden, James’s wife Sara Jones Biden, his sister Valerie Biden Owens, Valerie’s husband John Owens, and his brother Francis Biden.”My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics,” Biden said. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”

The US film industry’s first big gathering since fires devastated Los Angeles will begin Thursday at the Sundance festival, where highlights include a glitzy new Jennifer Lopez musical and a dark Benedict Cumberbatch drama.Hollywood’s annual pilgrimage to the Rocky Mountains to premiere the coming year’s most-anticipated indie films is taking place in somber circumstances, after the blazes that killed at least 27 people and brought the entertainment capital to a halt.Festival chiefs held lengthy talks with filmmakers, including those “who lost homes or were displaced” by the blazes, before deciding to press ahead, said Sundance director Eugene Hernandez.Organizers heard “harrowing stories of people running out of their homes, evacuating… with their hard drives under their arms” to ensure their films survived, he told AFP.”Everybody to a person just wants to look forward and wants to look ahead… it’ll be a nice moment of reunion and community.”Among the 88 features being screened in Utah’s Park City is “Rebuilding,” about a rancher who loses everything in a wildfire.”It takes on an added poignance, for those who will watch it next week,” said Hernandez.Josh O’Connor, known for “The Crown” and “Challengers,” plays the lead role. “It’s an incredible film, and one that we felt was important to show, based on that spirit of resilience,” said Sundance programming director Kim Yutani.”I think it will be a particularly moving one for people to see.”- J-Lo, Cumberbatch -A-lister Lopez brings her first film to Sundance, with “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”From “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon, the film is based on the Broadway adaptation of Argentine author Manuel Puig’s famous novel.Lopez plays Aurora, a silver-screen diva whose life and roles are discussed by two mismatched prisoners as they form an unlikely bond in their grim cell. While harking back to grand Golden Age Hollywood musicals with its fabulous costumes and Lopez’s “knockout musical performance,” the film is a more dramatic and independent take on the genre, said Hernandez.Cumberbatch stars in another literary adaptation, “The Thing With Feathers,” based on Max Porter’s experimental and poetic novel about a grieving husband and two young sons.”It’s one of these juicy roles that big actors relish taking a bite out of,” said Yutani.Family tragedy and fatherhood are also the themes of “Omaha,” with John Magaro (“Past Lives”) delivering “an emotional gut punch of a role” that could spell awards, according to Yutani.Elsewhere, Olivia Colman plays a mother taking her non-binary teen to visit their gay grandfather (John Lithgow) in “Jimpa.”Rapper A$AP Rocky and late-night host Conan O’Brien make up the eclectic cast of mystery “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”And “The Bear” star Ayo Edebiri teams up with John Malkovich for thriller “Opus,” about a young writer investigating the mysterious disappearance of a legendary pop star.- Music, politics -Music is also a prominent theme of Sundance’s documentary selection, which has launched several of the most recent Oscar-winning non-fiction films.A new “must-see” Jeff Buckley documentary features never-before-seen footage from “three very important women in his life, including his mother,” said Yutani.Elegance Bratton explores the Chicago roots of house music with “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House,” while Oscar-winning director Questlove examines funk pioneer Sly Stone in “Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius).”Politics will again be prominent.Former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern is expected in town to promote behind-the-scenes documentary “Prime Minister.””The Jinx” director Andrew Jarecki explores violence and corruption in the US prison system with “The Alabama Solution.” And, days after the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect, Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis will unveil her “groundbreaking” new film “All That’s Left of You,” which has been given a highly prominent Saturday evening premiere at Sundance’s biggest venue.”That is not an accident. This is a really special one,” said Yutani.”I have not seen a film about a Palestinian family told in quite this way.”The 2025 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 23 through February 2.

Fire-weary southern California was buffeted Monday by dangerous winds, with forecasters warning of an “extremely critical” risk in a region already staggering from the devastation of horrifying blazes.Firefighters continued to make progress snuffing out fires that ravaged 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares) in the Los Angeles area, after erupting on January 7 and killing at least 27 people.But a return of the hurricane-force winds responsible for spreading those initial fires threatened more danger.Winds gusting up to 88 miles (142 kilometers) an hour have been recorded in some spots, where forecasters said they could again combine with exceedingly dry conditions to create the potential for more fast-spreading fires.”We’re expecting this to continue to create extremely critical fire weather conditions across the region,” Ariel Cohen, of the National Weather Service, (NWS) told AFP.”Any fires that form could grow explosively. And so this is a particularly dangerous situation.”Officials said they had pre-deployed engines and firefighters to areas at risk, after facing criticism that they were unprepared earlier this month.”I believe that we will be very, very prepared for what the worst possible case scenario (could be) over the next couple of days, and then hopefully we don’t get there at all,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told reporters.The largest conflagration, the Palisades Fire, was 59 percent contained by Monday, and the area affected by evacuation orders has now shrunk to effectively match the fire’s footprint.The Eaton Fire, which wrecked a large part of the Altadena area, was 87 percent contained.- No ‘magical spigot’ -As Los Angeles grapples with the scale of the devastation, political bickering has intensified.Donald Trump, who was sworn in as US president on Monday, has said he will be visiting the fire-ravaged areas at the end of the week.That trip could include an awkward encounter with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been the target of Trump’s barbs over his handling of the disaster.Moments after being sworn in as the 47th president, Trump again side-swiped California’s Democratic leadership.”We are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense,” he said.”We can’t let this happen. Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change,” he added, musing it was “interesting” that some wealthy people had lost their homes.Newsom did not directly address the gibe, but offered an open hand to the newly installed president.”This moment underscores the critical need for partnership, a shared commitment to facts, and mutual respect — values that enable civil discourse, effective governance, and meaningful action,” he wrote on social media.”I look forward to President Trump’s visit to Los Angeles and his mobilization of the full weight of the federal government to help our fellow Americans recover and rebuild.”While the immediate cause of the fires is not yet known, scientists say humanity’s behavior is altering weather patterns, making them more volatile, which can increase the destructiveness of any blaze.Southern California has had no significant rain for around eight months, even though it is well into what is usually the rainy season.Officials have cautioned that if rain does materialize, it could create dangerous debris flows in the disaster zone, and spark mudflows and hill collapses.

Billionaire Elon Musk sparked controversy Monday after making a gesture at an event celebrating US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with some calling it a “Nazi” or “fascist” movement.The X, SpaceX and Tesla chief appeared on stage at the Capital One Arena in Washington, where supporters of the newly inaugurated president had gathered for a rally.Upon thanking the crowd for returning the 78-year-old Republican to the White House, Musk tapped the left side of his chest with his right hand and then extended his arm with his palm open, repeating the gesture for the crowd seated behind him.Claire Aubin, a historian who specializes in Nazism within the United States, agreed Musk’s gesture was a “sieg heil,” or Nazi salute.”My professional opinion is that you’re all right, you should believe your eyes,” Aubin posted on X, aligning with those who found the gesture was an overt reference to Nazis.Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian of fascism, also found the gesture “was a Nazi salute — and a very belligerent one too,” she said on X.Democratic Party members also quickly responded with alarm.Congressman Jimmy Gomez reacted to the moment by posting on X: “Well, that didn’t take long.”Musk, who has posted a dozen times on his social network X since making the gesture, did not immediately react to the swirling controversy.One attendee at the rally told AFP he thought Musk was making the gesture as a joke.”He’s very humorous, and he uses a lot of sarcasm. So when he did that on the stage, I don’t think he meant it,” said Brandon Galambos, a 29-year-old pastor and tech worker.Reports by Wired and Rolling Stone magazines said far-right personalities in the United States were celebrating the move, like the writer Evan Kilgore, who called the salute “incredible.”Musk has also made several statements in recent weeks in support of Germany’s far-right AfD party and British anti-immigration party Reform UK.The Anti Defamation League (ADL), an organization founded to combat anti-Semitism which has criticized Musk in the past, defended his actions this time around.”It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” the organization said in a statement posted on X.Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted the ADL’s reaction, saying on X: “Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.”Another historian, Aaron Astor, also rebuffed accusations of Musk’s Nazi emulation.”I have criticized Elon Musk many times for letting neo-Nazis pollute this platform,” he wrote on X, adding: “But this gesture is not a Nazi salute.””This is a socially awkward autistic man’s wave to the crowd where he says ‘my heart goes out to you.'”In 2021, Musk announced he had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.

US President Donald Trump signed pardons Monday for some 1,500 participants in the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol by his supporters who attempted to overturn the 2020 election.”These are the hostages — approximately 1,500 people — for a pardon, full pardon,” Trump said at a signing ceremony shortly after arriving at the White House.”We hope they come out tonight frankly,” he said. “They’re expecting it.”More than 1,500 people were charged in connection with the assault on Congress by Trump supporters who were seeking to disrupt certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.Trump repeatedly pledged during his election campaign to pardon those who took part in the attack, calling them “hostages,” “patriots” and “political prisoners.”Trump, whose first term as president ended under the cloud of the Capitol assault, has repeatedly played down the unprecedented violence of January 6, even going so far as to describe it as a “day of love.”More than 140 police officers were injured in hours of clashes with rioters wielding flagpoles, baseball bats, hockey sticks and other makeshift weapons along with Tasers and canisters of bear spray.The assault on the Capitol followed a fiery speech by then-president Trump to tens of thousands of his supporters near the White House in which he repeated his false claims that he won the 2020 race. He then encouraged the crowd to march on Congress.Trump was charged by special counsel Jack Smith with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.But the case never made it to trial, and was dropped under the Justice Department’s policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.According to the latest figures from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, 1,583 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol siege, including 608 accused of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers.Biden, before leaving office on Monday, issued preemptive pardons to former Covid pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci, retired general Mark Milley and close family members to shield them from “politically motivated prosecutions” by the Trump administration.Biden gave similar pardons to former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney and other members of the congressional committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol.Just minutes before Trump was sworn in, Biden announced he was issuing pardons to his brother James Biden, James’s wife Sara Jones Biden, his sister Valerie Biden Owens, Valerie’s husband John Owens, and his brother Francis Biden.”My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics,” Biden said. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”

The US Senate unanimously approved Marco Rubio as secretary of state on Monday, putting the fellow senator on the front line of President Donald Trump’s often confrontational diplomacy. Rubio, who is the first Hispanic and first fluent Spanish speaker to assume the position of top US diplomat, is Trump’s first cabinet nominee to be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, only hours after the inauguration.Unusually in a highly partisan era, Rubio was confirmed 99-0, with several senators from the rival Democratic Party describing Rubio as a friend. One Senate seat was made vacant by the inauguration of Vice President J.D. Vance.”Given the uncertainty around the globe right now, it is in America’s interest not to skip a beat and to fill this role immediately,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”While we may not always agree, I believe he has the skills, knowledge and qualifications to be secretary of state,” she said on the Senate floor.Shaheen and the Republican chairman of the committee, Jim Risch, agreed to fast-track Rubio’s nomination, which was cleared by the panel barely an hour before heading to the floor.”It’s no secret that hostile powers from China to Russia, from North Korea to Iran, have formed an authoritarian axis bent on weakening the United States,” Risch said.”We need a principled, action-oriented chief diplomat like Marco Rubio to take them on.”- Challenge to represent Trump -Rubio will immediately have the task of executing the potentially erratic foreign policy of Trump, who in an inauguration speech Monday renewed threats to seize the Panama Canal but also pledged to be a “peacemaker.”Trump challenged the two secretaries of state in his first term with a foreign policy that swung rapidly, with Trump in one case shifting from threatening destruction of North Korea to declaring that he “fell in love” with strongman leader Kim Jong Un.Rubio, the working-class son of Cuban immigrants who bitterly opposed Fidel Castro’s communist revolution, is known for his hawkish stance toward Latin American authoritarian states and China.In his confirmation hearing last week, Rubio accused China of cheating its way to superpower status and called the Asian giant “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever faced.”Rubio will head to work Tuesday and, according to diplomats, is expected to meet with foreign ministers from the Quad, which groups the United States with Australia, India and Japan.Conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and upgraded by former president Joe Biden, the Quad has been seen by China as a way for the four democracies to encircle and contain it, despite denials from the countries.Rubio is also expected to join Trump in being a stalwart defender of Israel, which a day earlier entered a long-awaited ceasefire with Hamas, something that had been sought exhaustively by Rubio’s Democratic predecessor Antony Blinken.Despite his collegial relations in the Senate, Rubio was once a bitter opponent of Trump, who famously belittled him as “Little Marco” when the senator unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.Rubio has since rallied behind Trump. In his confirmation hearing, he repeatedly stressed that the president would make the policy.Several of Trump’s nominees have yet to have confirmation hearings due to their controversial records, including Tulsi Gabbard for intelligence chief, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services secretary and Kash Patel for the FBI.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that Rubio’s confirmation showed the party would not “reflexively oppose nominees” but would also not “rubber stamp” them.

US senators voted Monday to expand pretrial incarceration for foreign criminal suspects as the Republican-led Congress worked to deliver on Donald Trump’s promises of a crackdown on illegal immigration, hours after he began his second term. The Laken Riley Act — which calls for the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes — is named for a 22-year-old student murdered by a Venezuelan man with no papers who was wanted for shoplifting. The American Civil Liberties Union warned that the legislation would have people jailed, “potentially for years” because “they were accused of nonviolent offenses.”The legislation passed the upper chamber in a comfortable 64-35 vote two weeks after sailing through the House of Representatives, with Republicans keen to highlight what they described as weak border security policies from Joe Biden, who left office on Monday.But the newly-inaugurated Senate — which flipped from Democratic to Republican control after November’s election — added a tweak that expands mandatory detention to “crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury.”That means it has to go back to the House for one last vote but it is expected to clear that hurdle and reach Trump’s desk by the end of the week — the first bill he will sign into law.”Now is the time to return to common sense. Now is the time to return to law and order,” Alabama Republican Katie Britt said in a speech on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “We are a proud nation of immigrants. We are also a nation of laws, and the lawlessness ends today.”Trump has promised to crack down on illegal border crossings and carry out mass deportations, and has named Tom Homan, a veteran hardline immigration official, as his border chief.The Republican president repeatedly spotlighted Laken Riley’s case during his election campaign as he railed against undocumented migrants, blaming them for “poisoning the blood” of the country.Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was convicted of her murder after she was found dead in a wooded area at the University of Georgia in Athens.Democrats complained however that it would cost $83 billion to implement the new law in the first three years — more than the Homeland Security Department’s entire budget. “That’s a lot of money to spend on a bill that’ll cause chaos, punish legal immigrants, & undermine due process — while drawing resources away from true threats,” Patty Murray, of Washington state, said on X.

Margelis Tinoco broke down in tears after her asylum appointment was canceled as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown announced by US President Donald Trump on his first day in office.”I don’t know what will become of my life anymore,” said the 48-year-old Colombian, who made the long and dangerous journey from South America with her husband and son.Trump began his second term in office with a series of announcements intended to drastically reduce the number of migrants entering the United States.He vowed to declare a national emergency at the border with Mexico, immediately halt “all illegal entry” and begin the process of deporting “millions and millions of criminal aliens.”Minutes after he was sworn in, an app introduced by his predecessor Joe Biden to help process claims for entering the United States went offline.”Look what it says,” Tinoco said, pointing to a message on her cellphone screen informing users of CBP One that existing appointments had been canceled.”Have compassion and let us cross,” she pleaded, saying that she had endured “six months of suffering” after leaving Venezuela where she had been living with her family.Yaime Perez, a 27-year-old Cuban, also made an emotional appeal to Trump.”Since we are here, please let us in, please, after all the work we have put in to get here, let us enter your country, so that we can better ourselves in life and be somebody,” she said.Antony Herrera arrived at the border with his wife and three children after a long journey from their native Venezuela only to discover that their appointment had been canceled.”We don’t know what is going to happen,” said the 31-year-old, one of millions of people who have left crisis-hit Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated this month for a third term after a disputed election victory.- Caravan heads for border -During his first term in the White House from 2017 to 2021, Trump put heavy pressure on Mexico to turn back a tide of migrants from Central America.On Monday, he quickly moved to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy that prevailed under his last administration.Under that rule, people who applied to enter the United States at the Mexican border were not allowed to enter the country until their application had been decided.Mexico agreed during Trump’s first term to receive deportees from other countries in exchange for the Republican withdrawing his tariff threats.It is unclear if the current Mexican government would do the same this time round.President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that Mexico would receive its own deported nationals, without mentioning how it would proceed with other foreigners expelled from the United States.Congratulating Trump on his inauguration, she called for “dialogue, respect and cooperation” between the closely connected neighbors.In southern Mexico, hundreds of US-bound migrants ignored Trump’s warnings and set off on foot from near the border with Guatemala.The caravans are a way for migrants to pressure the Mexican authorities to issue permits allowing them to transit through the country without being detained.”I’m a little scared because with everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve fought for, with all the sacrifices we’ve made, it’s very hard to have the doors closed on us and not be able to cross,” said Jefferzon Celedon, a 24-year-old Venezuelan.Despite the gloomy mood, fellow Venezuelan Leonel Delgado said he was still determined to reach the Mexican-US border.”We have to keep going and not be swayed by what people say, whether they close it or not. We will see when we arrive,” the 42-year-old said.

US tech multibillionaires — including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos — were given prime positions at Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, in an unprecedented demonstration of their power and influence.Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg are the world’s three richest people, and in addition to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who also attended, their combined fortune sits at just above one trillion dollars, according to Forbes.The tech tycoons have spent the weeks since the election courting favor with Trump, marking a dramatic shift from Silicon Valley’s more hostile response to his first term four years ago.Attendees also included Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.TikTok CEO Shou Chew sat in the back row of the stage, even as his platform’s future remains uncertain. TikTok on Sunday credited Trump for promising an executive order to save the app from an American ban, though its fate in the United States remains unclear while under Chinese company ByteDance’s ownership, in defiance of a US law.Despite highly limited seating after the ceremony was moved indoors due to bad weather, Meta CEO Zuckerberg attended with his wife Priscilla Chan, while Amazon executive chairman Bezos was accompanied by his fiancee, Lauren Sanchez.”They have even better seats than Trump’s own cabinet picks. That says it all,” said US Senator Elizabeth Warren in a social media post.Their prominent positions on the inauguration stage was particularly notable for Zuckerberg, whom Trump had threatened with life imprisonment just months ago.The Meta chief recently made headlines by brashly aligning his company’s policies with Trump’s worldview, notably by eliminating fact-checking in the United States and relaxing hate speech restrictions on Facebook and Instagram.Musk has shown the strongest support for Trump, spending $277 million to help him and other Republicans win November’s election while transforming his X platform into an amplifier for pro-Trump voices.Bezos, like Zuckerberg and his peers, has visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida leading up to the inauguration, with favorable treatment, government contracts and reduced regulatory scrutiny for Amazon in the balance.As owner of The Washington Post, Bezos sparked controversy by blocking the newspaper’s planned endorsement of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election, triggering newsroom protests and subscriber cancellations.Musk has been named a leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to advise the White House on cutbacks to public spending and has spent much of the past two months at Mar-a-Lago.- ‘Paid access’ -While Musk’s SpaceX is already a major government contractor, Amazon’s AWS cloud computing division and Google also count the US government among their biggest clients.Google, Meta, Apple, and Amazon are also fighting landmark antitrust lawsuits from the US government that could force their breakup. “These are very wealthy people who have basically paid for access, which is something that they would do for any upcoming administration even if we all recognize Trump is very transactional,” said Andrew Selepak, media professor at the University of Florida.”They’re making sure it’s very clear that their faces, names, and especially their money, is here,” he added.

Donald Trump said Monday he will issue a raft of executive orders aimed at reshaping how the United States deals with citizenship and immigration.The 47th president will set to work almost immediately with a series of presidential decrees intended to drastically reduce the number of migrants entering the country.”First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said minutes after his inauguration.”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 from which they came.”He will send troops to the US-Mexico border “to repel the disastrous invasion of our country,” he said.Trump, who campaigned on a platform of curbing migration and whose policies are popular with people who fret over changing demographics, also intends to end the centuries-old practice of granting citizenship automatically to anyone born in the United States.”We’re going to end asylum,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told reporters, and create “an immediate removal process without possibility of asylum. We are then going to end birthright citizenship.”The US Constitution grants citizenship to anyone born on US soil.Kelly said Trump’s actions will “clarify” the 14th Amendment, which addresses birthright citizenship.”Federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States,” she said.- Appointments cancelled -The first effects of Trump’s stance became apparent minutes after his inauguration when an app unveiled under president Joe Biden to help process migrants went offline.”Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been cancelled,” said a notice on the landing page.US media reported 30,000 people had appointments scheduled.Trump’s key adviser and noted immigration hardliner Stephen Miller took to social media to announce that the doors were shut.”All illegal aliens seeking entry into the United States should turn back now,” he wrote.”Anyone entering the United States without authorization faces prosecution and expulsion.”Kelly said the administration would also reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy that prevailed under Trump’s first administration.Under that rule, people who apply to enter the United States at the Mexican border were not allowed to do so until their application had been decided.- Court challenges -Kelly said Trump would seek to use the death penalty against non-citizens who commit capital crimes including murder.”This is about national security. This is about public safety, and this is about the victims of some of the most violent, abusive criminals we’ve seen enter our country in our lifetime, and it ends today,” she said.Many of Trump’s first-term executive actions were rescinded under Biden, including one using so-called Title 42, implemented during the Covid pandemic preventing almost all entry to the country on public health grounds.The changes under Biden led to an influx of migrants, with images of thousands of people packing the border area.Trump frequently invoked dark imagery about how illegal migration was “poisoning the blood” of the nation, words that were seized upon by opponents as reminiscent of Nazi Germany.- Court challenges -While US presidents enjoy a range of powers, they are not unlimited. Analysts say any effort to alter birthright citizenship will be fraught.Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said the 14th Amendment was “crystal clear” in granting citizenship to anyone born in the United States with the exception of children of foreign diplomats. “We have had birthright citizenship for centuries, and a president cannot take it away with an executive order,” he told AFP. “We expect rapid court challenges.”Cris Ramon, immigration senior policy advisor at civil rights group UnidosUS, said the administration was “using a ‘throw spaghetti at the wall’ approach.””We don’t care whether this is legal or not,” he said of the apparent attitude. “We’re just simply going to do it and see if it survives the courts.”