President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to fulfill his largest campaign promise.
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Construction for his proposed 2,000-mile wall, designed to physically divide the United States and Mexico’s border, may begin in a matter months. Trump also signed a directive to punish “sanctuary cities” by stripping away their federal funding.
“The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws,” insisted White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
RELATED: Donald Trump’s wall is going to cost someone a lot of money
After the new of his executive actions was announced, Trump gave a press conference at the Department of Homeland Security.
There he presented the case for his directives:
Trump at DHS: “A nation without borders is not a nation. Beginning today, the US gets back control of its borders.” https://t.co/qtcQjrpI22
— CNN (@CNN) January 25, 2017
“A nation without borders is not a nation,” he suggested. Trump promised that his executive actions would allow the country to regain control of its borders.
Trump also criticized the current border system, using stories of various criminal acts to also justify Wednesday’s order:
Trump to Americans “victimized by open borders”: “We hear you, we see you and you will never ever be ignored again.” https://t.co/8PWerb1r2X
— CNN (@CNN) January 25, 2017
He used language similar to that of his inaugural speech. There he promised, “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.”
RELATED: Trump’s border wall to be paid for in dollars, not pesos
Trump provided some more details regarding his plans for the wall:
.@POTUS explains the policies in his immigration executive orders. pic.twitter.com/chSLU2Xcev
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 25, 2017
He closed his speech by touting a new sense of safety as a result of the order:
President Trump speaks at DHS: "I will be a President, I promise you, for everyone" https://t.co/0beOsnox0D https://t.co/mjbqFGJG7I
— CNN (@CNN) January 25, 2017
Trump is also set to head executive actions limiting and banning immigration from “several Muslim-majority Middle Eastern and North African countries including Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen.”