Updated 23:50 IST, January 20th 2025
Trump Launches Sweeping Border Crackdown: Bans Illegal Immigration and Orders Mass Deportations on Day 1
Donald Trump in his inaugural address as the 47th President of the US said, that all illegal immigrants will be blocked and those in the US will be deported.

Washington: Donald Trump sticks by his promise, declaring in his address after taking the oath as the 47th President of the United States that all illegal immigrants will be blocked and those already in the US will be sent back.
Trump on his Day 1 plans to issue executive orders, including declaring a national emergency at the southern border, reinstating the "remain in Mexico" policy, and sending troops to the border.
"We will abandon the policy of catch and release. I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country. Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations.", Trump said.
A Range of Reactions Behind Trump
The Rotunda crowd was heavily tilted in Trump’s favor, most of those in attendance clapping and even roaring during his speech. But one prominent seating section — former presidents, first ladies and vice presidents — was largely muted.
After Trump repeated his vow to take over the Panama Canal, complete with the false claim that China runs the intercontinental channel, Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris , among others, sat stone-faced, as did former President Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who lost to Trump in 2016, turned to her left, musing something in former President George W. Bush’s direction. Bush, who famously joked about the weirdness of Trump's first inaugural address, was smirking.
Less than two weeks ago, Trump was largely ignored at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Trump chatted with former President Barack Obama, but the rest of the former presidents and their wives bypassed him without a greeting.
A Different Scene Indoors
Inaugural speeches are traditionally delivered on the National Mall in front of tens of thousands of cheering supporters, many of them average voters from across America, who traveled great distance to witness history in person.
Not this one.
Trump delivered his speech in front of a crowd estimated at only around 600 in the Capitol Rotunda, which was limited to members of Congress , Cabinet nominees, Trump's family, business leaders and political VIPs. In fact, a collection of tech titans, led by Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, were positioned in front of Cabinet members in some cases. And while the business leaders were allowed to bring their spouses, members of Congress were not. Thousands of his supporters watched a broadcast of the swearing-in at Capitol One Arena instead.
It’s noteworthy that four years ago, violent Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol Rotunda as members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence feared for their lives. Pence attended Monday, though his wife, former second lady Karen Pence, did not.
(with agency inputs)
Published 23:11 IST, January 20th 2025