First lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance attend the Commander in Chief Ball, part of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, in Washington on Monday. | AP/PTI
LIVE | Day 1 of Trump 2.0: Migrants stranded as US tightens security on southern border
No move yet on F-1, H-1B visas; undocumented migrants anxious as Trump moves to realise pledge of mass deportations of 11 million people living in US illegally
Freshly inaugurated American President Donald J Trump on Monday (January 20) promised a blitz of executive orders as he announced the beginning of a "golden age" of America.
In a fiery inaugural address, 78-year-old Trump laid out his vision for the next four years, described January 20, 2025 as the "liberation day" for the US and declared that "America's decline is over" as he will bring changes "very quickly".
Trump signed executive orders to beef up security at the southern border that began taking effect hours after he was inaugurated, making good on his defining political promise to crack down on immigration and marking another wild swing in White House policy on the divisive issue.
Some of the orders revive priorities from his first administration that his predecessor had rolled back, including forcing asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico and finishing the border wall. Others created sweeping new strategies, like an effort to end automatic citizenship for anyone born in America, pulling the military into border security and ending use of a Biden-era app used by nearly a million migrants to enter America.
However, there is no word yet on the policy changes in the issuance of H-1B and other work visas.
In locations like Tijuana in Mexico, migrants from Haiti, Venezuela and around the world were seen waiting for their appointments to legally enter the US.
But US Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the CBP One app that worked as recently as that morning would no longer be used to admit migrants after facilitating entry for nearly 1 million people since January 2023. Tens of thousands of appointments that were scheduled into February were canceled, applicants were told.
Here is Trump's speech's full text
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Read updates below
Live Updates
- 21 Jan 2025 10:43 AM
Palestinian Authority accuses Trump of inciting Israeli settler violence
The Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s lifting of sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank would incite violence against Palestinians.
“Lifting sanctions on extremist settlers encourages them to commit more crimes against our people”, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, pointing to recent attacks by Israeli settlers throughout the occupied West Bank that wounded 21 people.
The American sanctions came during a spike in Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank in the shadow of Israel’s war on Gaza. While rights groups called on Biden to sanction Israeli settlement groups, many also stressed the curbs do not go far enough because the illegal outposts are backed by the Israeli government itself.
- 21 Jan 2025 10:42 AM
Trump ‘not confident’ Gaza deal will hold
US President Donald Trump has said that he’s “not confident” the ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal agreed between Hamas and Israel will last until the end of its three envisioned phases.
“It’s not our war. It’s their war,” he said after being asked by reporters about the situation in the war-battered Palestinian enclave. “I think they are very weakened on the other side,” Trump added in an apparent reference to Hamas.
“I looked at a picture of Gaza. Gaza is like a massive demolition site … It’s really got to be rebuilt in a different way.” He said Gaza is interesting because it is a “phenomenal location on the sea, best weather” and “some fantastic things could be done with it”.
Trump reiterated that Hamas cannot be the ruler of Gaza after the war ends.
- 21 Jan 2025 10:36 AM
Trump likely to stop buying oil from Venezuela
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration would likely stop buying oil from Venezuela and was looking “very strongly” at the South American country.
“It was a great country 20 years ago, and now it’s a mess,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office hours after his inauguration. “We don’t have to buy their oil. We have plenty of oil for ourselves.”
Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, had earlier said he spoke with multiple officials in Venezuela and would begin meetings early Tuesday, days after the outgoing Biden administration imposed new sanctions on the government of President Nicolas Maduro. (Reuters)
- 21 Jan 2025 10:26 AM
German Chancellor congratulates Trump, says ‘let’s work together for peace'
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday congratulated Donald Trump on becoming U.S. President, saying in a statement the leaders could work to provide an impetus "for freedom, peace and security as well as for prosperity and economic development."
- 21 Jan 2025 10:25 AM
WHO on US' withdrawal from global agency
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday that it regrets US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the global agency and hopes that it will change its mind.
"We hope that the United States will reconsider, and we hope that there will be constructive dialogue for the benefit of everyone, for Americans but also people around the world," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told a Geneva press briefing.
- 21 Jan 2025 10:23 AM
Trump brings back 'Diet Coke Button' at the Oval Office
As Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office for his second, non-consecutive term, so did the highly popular Diet Coke button, which the US President uses to order his favourite beverage.
Inside a wooden box, the red button was seen on Trump's resolute desk after his inauguration ceremony on January 20, The Wall Street Journal reported. Whenever pressed, the button notifies the butlers at the White House that a Diet Coke is needed at the Oval Office. Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, removed the button from the office in 2021.
“Everyone does get a little nervous when I press that button,” Trump told The Financial Times in 2017. Earlier, it was reported that Trump would consume around 12 cans of Diet Coke every day.
In a 2019 book "Team of Vipers", former White House aide Chris Sims stated that during his maiden term, Trump even used the red button to prank visitors, suggesting it could trigger nuclear capabilities. "Out of nowhere, he'd suddenly press the button," Sims wrote.
- 21 Jan 2025 10:18 AM
Putin vows to further develop ties with Xi hours after Trump inauguration
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in which he proposed further developing their strategic partnership just hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th US President, said news agency Reuters. Putin waved at Xi and addressed Chairman Xi as his "dear friend", saying he wanted to outline "new plans for the development of the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation."
- 21 Jan 2025 10:06 AM
Critics need 'better dirty tricks' after salute row: Musk
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk said Tuesday his critics needed "better dirty tricks" after a row erupted over a gesture he made at an inauguration event for US President Donald Trump that some likened to a Nazi salute.
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 Trump 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.
- 21 Jan 2025 10:04 AM
US Senate backs tougher immigration law
The US Senate has passed the Laken Riley Act, a law expanding pre-trial detention for undocumented immigrants accused of theft or crimes. The legislation, passed 64-35, fulfils Trump’s immigration crackdown pledge but faces criticism from civil rights advocates as they argue that the law could lead to prolonged detention for non-violent offences.
- 21 Jan 2025 10:03 AM
Trump grants clemency to 1,500 Capitol riot participants
Upon regaining the presidency, Donald Trump pardoned around 1,500 supporters who stormed the US Capitol four years ago on January 6. This swift decision was made within hours of his return to office. The pardons are expected to draw criticism from law enforcement, lawmakers, and others who were endangered during the attack.
