He had been elected for 2 hours, when Donald Trump took the stage to sign his many first decrees.
Among the shock measures taken by the new president of the United States, most undermine to the rights of minorities. He notably signed a text declaring “state of emergency at the southern border” with Mexico, as well as another decree to put an end to the right of soil.
However, despite the announcement effects the president does not have full powers, some of these decrees will confront amendments to the Constitution which protect certain rights, such as that of land law.
Anti-immigration
“All illegal entries will be stopped immediately and we will begin sending millions and millions of criminal aliens back to where they came from,” launched the Republican when signing decrees.
The next day, thousands of migrants were blocked at the border (we do not know for how long and according to what legal framework, editor’s note), even though some had scheduled appointments to request asylum. The latter were canceled and the application aimed at facilitating the legal entry of migrants onto American soil, put in place under the Biden administration, was deactivated. Trump’s executive order, if upheld, would go into effect 30 days after it is signed.
Nevertheless, Donald Trump “can reorganize state services to accelerate the expulsions of undocumented immigrants, but within the framework of laws that already exist”stipulates Corentin Sellin, associate professor of history specializing in the United States, columnist for the site Les Jours, with France Info.
Because rights, including that of land, are protected by the Constitution, which the president cannot modify alone.
Moreover, 22 Democratic states announced on Tuesday, January 21, that they were filing a complaint against this decree. Like other measures which go against the rights enshrined in the Constitution, this decision must, in fact, have the approval of the House of Representatives and the Senate to be applied. The Washington Post points out that a majority in both chambers of Congress will need to agree to amend the Constitution and that at least 38 states out of 50 ratify any modification to the texts in force.
-“This decree, aimed at abolishing land law, is frankly unconstitutional and un-American“, responded Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California. “We ask the court to immediately block the entry into force of this executive order and ensure that the rights of children born in the United States affected by this executive order remain in force during the duration of the proceedings. The president went well beyond the scope of his duties with this executive order, and we will hold him accountable.”
Anti-trans measure
“Starting today, it will be the official policy of the United States Government that there are only 2 sexes, male and female,” affirmed Donald Trump, combining words with actions with a decree which revokes several texts signed by Joe Biden to fight against discrimination based on gender.
The new president of the United States also wants to ban trans people from joining or remaining in the army. He had already banned the recruitment of trans people during his previous mandate, a decision reversed under the Joe Biden era. The president will nevertheless have to pass a law if he wants to validate these new exclusion measures.
The Gulf of Mexico becomes the “Gulf of America”
Donald Trump provoked Hillary Clinton into laughter when he said the United States would now refer to the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America“. It’s already done: most official American sites have made the change, reports the Huffingtonpost.
On the other hand, underlines the New York Times, if the president has the power to order the change of geographical names for their use in the United States, this in no way commits other countries to respect these changes.
Death penalty reinstated at the federal level
Donald Trump also wants to restore the application of the death penalty at the federal level, which means that it would be effective throughout the United States. The Attorney General must “continue the application of the death penalty for all crimes whose seriousness requires its application”he warns.
The decree, signed by Donald Trump, would aim to apply the death penalty to anyone convicted of the murder of a law enforcement officer and for all capital crimes committed by immigrants without legal status. As a reminder, since 1988, the death penalty at the federal level has been possible again, but under certain conditions, so this decree has every chance of succeeding. Three types of courts can impose the death penalty: the courts of certain federal states where there is a law providing for the death penalty validated by the courts; the federal courts, for certain federal crimes and the military courts (martial law), for the case of soldiers committing serious crimes such as murder.
