WASHINGTON: A sweeping deportation programme, ending “transgender lunacy,” “drill, baby, drill,” and peace for Ukraine: President-elect Don­ald Trump has vowed to move big and fast when he returns to the White House on Monday.

Here is a look at his sensational but frequently vague pro­mises for a second term — much of them likely to be enacted through executive orders.

Immigration

Trump promises a hardline stance against an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States. “When I am reelected, we will begin… the largest deportation operation in American history,” the Republican billionaire said on the campaign trail.

He also vowed to end birthright citizenship, calling it “ridiculous.” To achieve those goals, Trump is weighing declaring a national emergency, which would allow him to unlock Pentagon resources.

Analysts also expect him to issue executive orders on other aspects of immigration policy, including possibly to terminate an app used by migrants hoping to petition for asylum.

However, birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the US Constitution, and any deportation program will face legal challenges as well as potential refusals by some countries to accept deportees.

Trade wars?

Trump has vowed to slap a 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada — top US trading partners — as punishment for what he says is their failure to stem the flow of drugs and undocumented migrants into the United States.

But is Trump really ready to unleash a trade war with US neighbors, rupturing a North American free trade agreement? Some see this — and an even more provocative suggestion that Canada should be absorbed into the United States — as pre-negotiation bluster. Beijing should also buckle up.

Trump has threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on Chinese products, adding to existing tariffs that date back to his first term. Trump accuses China of allowing the chemical components used to make fentanyl.

Jan 6 pardons?

The president-elect has suggested he might pardon some or all of the people involved in the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, when his supporters tried to overthrow the 2020 election in which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has described them as “hostages” and “political prisoners” and said that he will be “making major pardons” in connection with the incident, but it remains unclear how he might differentiate cases involving violence against police officers.

More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes in the deadly assault, and more than 1,100 of them have been sentenced.

Wars and diplomacy

Trump warned that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release Israeli hostages before his inauguration — and promptly took credit when a ceasefire and hostage release deal negotiated by the Biden Administration was announced on Wednesday.

Trump also says he intends to quickly end Russia’s war against Ukraine, though it is unclear when or how he plans to do that. After promising over the summer to end the nearly three-year conflict “in 24 hours,” Trump more recently suggested a timeline of several months.

Climate

Climate skeptic Trump has promised to “drill, baby, drill” for oil and gas. He plans to repeal some of Biden’s key climate policies, such as tax credits for electric vehicles, which are meant to encourage a transition to a green economy. Trump also wants to boost offshore drilling, though he might need to secure congressional support to do that. Biden has selected swaths of ocean as protected no-drill areas.

Transgender rights and race

“With the stroke of my pen on day one, we’re going to stop the transgender lunacy,” Trump said in December, vowing to “end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools.”

He also said the US government would recognize only two genders, male and female.

Also among his plans is cutting federal funding to schools that have adopted “critical race theory,” an approach that looks at US history through the lens of racism.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2025