In two fresh executive orders on Wednesday, President Donald Trump cracked down on illegal immigration, as promised during his election campaign. He signed off on building a border wall, ramping up policing of immigrants, and punishing the so-called “sanctuary cities.” These policies, which immigrants’ rights groups call “immoral,” will have widespread economic, legal, and demographic implications for U.S. cities.
At a town hall at the Department of Homeland Security’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., the president announced that he’d given a green light to the “immediate construction” of a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which he said is “badly needed.” “Starting today, the United States of America gets back control of its borders,” Trump said.