US Congress Members From Illinois on Trump’s Immigration Plans, Environmental Concerns


Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States Monday.

With his opening rounds of memoranda and executive orders, Trump repealed dozens of former President Joe Biden’s actions, began his immigration crackdown, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords and sought to keep TikTok open in the U.S., among other actions. He pardoned hundreds of people for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump reversed several immigration orders from Biden’s presidency, including one that narrowed deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats or were stopped at the border. It returns the government to Trump’s first-term policy that everyone in the country illegally is a priority for deportation.

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The president declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, and he plans to send U.S. troops to help support immigration agents and restrict refugees and asylum.

Trump is trying end birthright citizenship. It’s unclear, though, whether his order will survive inevitable legal challenges, since birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Members of the U.S. Congress from Illinois joined “Chicago Tonight” to talk about Trump’s plans.

On Immigration

“There was a gentleman at the train station who said to me, I have papers, and then pulled out his employment authorization card to show me, because he was fearful that if he didn’t show me that, and if I was ICE, he’d get deported,” said U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Democrat who represents the 3rd Congressional District. “There’s a lot of fear. There’s a lot of questions, who does this apply to?  Who will he deport?  I think it’s really important that we’re letting people know, regardless of your legal status, you have rights.”

On environmental protections

“There are a lot of other issues that will be the issues of our future generations. Front page of the tribune today talked about a record number of climate disasters in Illinois in 2024,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat who represents the 5th Congressional District. “The president basically announced a war on anything sustainable, ‘drill, baby, drill’ movement away from EV vehicles. That’s just one of the many issues that will be extraordinarily difficult to fight back on in the next four years.”

On Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“I saw Donald Trump make a lot of promises in order to distract the American people from his plan to reward the billionaires sitting in that front row next to his family members and make sure that those folks got a tax break at the expense of hard working families across northern Illinois,” said U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, a Democrat who represents the 14th Congressional District.

“And so I do not have any kind of conviction that Donald Trump is inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., and I take him at his word when he makes these promises to harm families in our community.”

On the oligarchy warning

“We had a sample of it at the end of last year. We had a bipartisan, bicameral bill to fund the government for the next several months that was agreed to by everyone, and suddenly the newly formed oligarch comes in and announces that it’s dead and threatens Republicans with primaries if they support it. So I don’t know if he’s president Musk or just our most prominent of oligarchs,” said Quigley. 

The Associated Press contributed. 


 

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