Reaction to President Trump's Executive Actions

Ricketts Comments on President Trump’s Executive Actions: “This is the Change Americans Voted For”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump for his executive actions on his first day in office:

“Today, President Trump began delivering on his promises to the American people. His border actions will keep Americans safe. His repeal of Biden’s delusional mandates will make our nation more prosperous. His creation of a Department of Government Efficiency will bring needed accountability to the federal bureaucracy. This is the change Americans voted for.”

Nebraska Appleseed Responds to Day One Executive Orders
LINCOLN, NE – Today, President Trump began his return to office by issuing numerous executive orders that attempt to bring harm and instability to Nebraska’s immigrant neighbors and whole Nebraska communities. Nebraska Appleseed Executive Director Becky Gould issued the following statement in response:

“Nebraska communities have a beautiful and powerful mix of people from many backgrounds, identities, and religious beliefs working together for the Good Life. Today’s executive orders run contrary to Nebraska’s values and our national ideals of dignity, fairness, respect, and justice. The orders illustrate callous disregard for Nebraska families and communities, as well as people in every state who will be harmed.
 
These executive actions will harm families, workplaces and entire communities. They are a continuation of the destructive and unproductive actions that couldn’t be further from Nebraska’s values and also our proud history of welcoming refugees and immigrant community members. 

At the same time, it is important to note that many of the orders ignore Constitutional limits on executive authority and are likely to be challenged in court. Furthermore, discrimination against Americans of different backgrounds is not a legitimate use of executive power, and we will continue advocating against such harmful rhetoric and actions. 

Today’s executive orders include directives such as: 

Tragically and harmfully stopping valuable refugee resettlement programs; 
-Costly and unproductive use of public resources for border wall construction, which creates a dangerous distraction from the policies that would serve our best interests; 
-Declaring people seeking safety at the southern border as a national emergency; and creating chaos by removing multiple immigration processes while requiring detention of large numbers of people; 
-Inaccurately defining gender as biological female and male, harmfully dismissing the diversity, fluidity, and reality of gender identity and risking access to gender affirming care, spaces, and activities;
-Ending inclusion and equity programs at the federal level, and removing critical educational tools and equity checkpoints within the federal administration.

In the following days we will continue to share information on these and any additional actions, many of which are likely to be challenged in court. 

Harsh enforcement of outdated immigration laws that Congress has failed to update for nearly 40 years hurts all of us. Anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies like these make communities less safe and tear families apart. Our immigration and refugee policies must be built on a foundation of dignity and humanity to live up to American ideals. What we need instead is leadership and policy solutions that create stability for longtime immigrant community members - which in turn creates stability for us all.”