In 2017, the Mexico-U.S. border had 654 miles of primary fencing, 37 miles of secondary fencing and 14 miles of tertiary fencing. Trump's target, from 2015 to 2017, was 1,000 miles of wall. The Trump administration set a target of 450 miles of new or renovated barriers by December 2020, with an ultimate goal of 509 miles of new or renovated barriers by August 2021. Even into 2020, Trump has repeatedly provided false assertions that Mexico is paying for the Trump wall, although American taxpayers are footing the bill from funds being diverted from the U.S. Department of Defense.
In August 2017, Trump pardoned former sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was awaiting sentencing for contempt of court in a class action that alleged racial profiling. In March 2018, he pardoned former Navy sailor Kristian Saucier, who had been found guilty of taking classified photographs of a submarine. In April 2018 he pardoned Scooter Libby, a political aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney. Libby had been convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements to the FBI. In May 2018 he granted a posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson, a black boxer who had been convicted in 1913 for traveling across state lines with his white girlfriend. In June 2018 he pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza, who had made illegal political campaign contributions. That month he also commuted the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a non-violent drug trafficking offender, following a request by celebrity Kim Kardashian. In February 2020, Trump pardoned white-collar criminals Michael Milken, Bernard Kerik, and Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., and commuted former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's 14-year corruption sentence.
More InfoAlthough Trump originally argued that the issue could not be solved via executive order, he proceeded to sign an executive order on June 20, 2018, mandating that migrant families be detained together, unless the administration judged that doing so would harm the child. On June 26, 2018, a federal judge concluded that the Trump administration had "no system in place to keep track of" the separated children, nor any effective measures for family communication and reunification; the judge ordered for the families to be reunited, and family separations stopped, except in the cases where the parent(s) are judged unfit to take care of the child, or if there is parental approval.
More InfoIn other immigration policies, Trump has from 2018 onwards deployed nearly 6,000 troops to the U.S. Mexico border, in 2019 was allowed by the Supreme Court to stop most Central American migrants from seeking U.S. asylum, and from 2020 used the public charge rule to restrict immigrants using government benefits from getting permanent residency via green cards. Trump has continually reduced the number of allowed refugees into the country; when Trump took office the annual limit was 110,000, in 2019 Trump set a limit of 18,000, a record low for the U.S. refugee program. Additional restrictions implemented by the Trump administration caused (potentially long-lasting) bottlenecks in processing refugee applications, resulting in fewer refugees accepted compared to the allowed limits.
More InfoTrump rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. Since his election Trump has made large budget cuts to programs that research renewable energy and has rolled back Obama-era policies directed at curbing climate change. In June 2017, Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, making the U.S. the only nation in the world to not ratify the agreement. At the 2019 G7 summit, Trump skipped the sessions on climate change but said afterward during a press conference that he is an environmentalist.
More InfoStarting in spring 2020, Trump began to sow doubts about the election, repeatedly warning that the election would be "rigged" and claiming without evidence that the expected widespread use of mail balloting would produce "massive election fraud". When the House of Representatives voted for a $25 billion grant to the post office, to allow them to handle the expected surge in mail voting, Trump said he would not agree to the grant because he wanted to prevent any increase in voting by mail. In what The New York Times called an "extraordinary breach of presidential decorum", Trump raised the idea on July 30 of delaying the election. He has refused to say whether he will accept the results of the election if he loses.
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