Clik here to view.
Trump and his team have only been in office for sixty-five days, and in those sixty-five days, he has signed more than 50 executive orders, tanked the economy, deported immigrants on the assumption that they are illegal, and most recently has signed an executive order that is aimed at dismantling the Department of Education.
In an attempt to keep citizens abreast of the constant and erratic changes coming out of Capitol Hill, it is more than vital that American citizens understand that these changes can affect them more than they could possibly think. Especially if you live in red states as big and as politically powerful as Texas.
Education is Important… Right?
Clik here to view.
On Thursday, March 20th, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed the executive order to start the attempted beginning of the end of the Department of Education. This was a campaign promise that he is determined to deliver on. He has insisted multiple times that the Department of Education is wasting the taxpayers’ money without adequate results.
So with his new executive order, he is insisting that education will go back to the states (despite the fact that it never left the states). So what does this mean for Texans?
Currently, the Texas Legislature can not agree on much, and education is one of their top disagreements. Between voucher programs framed as school choice, to making budgeting contingent on accepting “Bible-infused” curricula, to banning drag queens at Texas A&M (a federal judge has already said no), to even banning DEI in K-12 hiring decisions (which doesn’t explain what to do about white teachers in districts where white people aren’t the majority), leaving education at the hands of the Texas representatives will do more harm than good.
Related: What’s Greg Got To Do With It
This also comes as a concern since the Dallas Civil Rights Department was closed down. If that wasn’t enough, the federal government is no longer explicitly prohibiting segregationists from acquiring government contracts. This news comes as a simple follow-up to the January 21st Executive Order that targeted DEI policies at the same federal level.
In short, seeing that education policies and practices would be left to the state representatives, it can only seem to increase the disparities between Black and Brown students, decrease the number of teachers, and increase discrimination based on race, gender, and sexuality. Not only that, but it will eventually “reform” education into being a luxury for the rich, while the poor view it as something to strive for.
Immigration Policies:
Clik here to view.
The day following Trump’s inauguration, ICE trucks could be seen slinking through sanctuary cities hunting for immigrants. Which came as no surprise given that it was a repeated promise made by him and his campaign team. He also signed numerous executive orders that were deliberately used to target immigrants.
This past week, the administration sent out multiple planes filled with alleged Venezuelan gang members of the Tren De Aragua (transnational criminal organization) to an El Salvador prison. He did so by enacting the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The law was created for wartime purposes so a president could detain and/or deport any citizens of an enemy nation. The Act had only been enforced during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II.
And even though Judge Boasberg had directed the administration to bring the planes back to the states, the Trump administration insisted that they didn’t break any rules and that this was in fact, the right thing to do for the safety of the American people. Despite the entire situation being illegal.
With Trump’s extreme immigration policies, Texas has followed suit with the introduction of Senate Bill 8. Senate Bill 8 proposes that any Texas county that has more than 100,000 residents would make it mandatory for the local justice department to partner with ICE. Seven out of every 40 Texans are immigrants, which opens speculation as to how they could carry out this policy.
Will they be checking for immigration status? Will they separate children from their families? Will they deport those who fit a description of what they believe constitutes an immigrant? Will they follow any order (that could be unconstitutional) that comes from Governor Greg Abbott?
Trump has already carried out immigration policies that leave immigration lawyers scrambling for their clients’ safety and integrity. With Texas introducing new bills to increase tensions between ICE and immigrants, this will only increase the fear that immigrants feel in their communities.
Tariffs, Tariffs and More Tariffs
Clik here to view.
As a response to Trump feeling like everyone is using America, he has now initiated a trade war with Mexico, China, and Canada, and now a fourth enemy could be the European Union as it pertains to alcoholic beverages (a sad year for everyone turning 21).
Currently, the tariff war has started with a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico (excluding car parts). A 10% additional tariff on the imports of China. However, there are reports that a second round of tariffs could raise tariffs to $19,530,900,000.00 on exports of the United States by April 13th. And to round out the rising costs would be the 200% tariff increase on alcohol from the European Union.
All these numbers add up to the fact that Americans will have to pay more, and they risk not having certain imports from other countries because of the ever-growing amount of tariffs. So, if you thought those gas prices were going to go down anytime soon, you are sorely mistaken.
All in all, as the Trump Administration ramps up on their increasingly discriminatory and backward policies, I can’t help but reflect on what kind of life everyone will be subjected to for the next four years, if this can only happen in less than 100 days.
Clik here to view.
Zahiyah Carter is a Gen Z writer based in Dallas. Her work focuses on topics that matter most to young people, from social issues and pop culture to technology and beyond.
The post Trump’s Executive Orders: Impact on Education, Immigration, and Economy appeared first on Dallas Weekly.