United States | The president’s phoney war

Donald Trump cries “invasion” to justify an immigration crackdown

His first immigration executive orders range from benign to belligerent

Migrants from Mexico and Guatemala are apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers after crossing a section of border wall into the U.S.
Photograph: Getty Images
|CHICAGO and LOS ANGELES 

AN “INVASION”. On the campaign trail, that’s how Donald Trump described the millions of migrant encounters at the southern border during Joe Biden’s presidency. During his inaugural address the 45th, and now 47th, president echoed the same sentiment, but this time with a note of triumphalism. “For American citizens, January 20th 2025 is Liberation Day,” he crowed.

Explore more

More from United States

US President Donald Trump throws pens to the crowd after signing executive orders during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington

The new American imperialism

Donald Trump is the first president in more than 100 years to call for new American territory—including Mars

Inauguration Ceremony Rehearsal Takes Place In Nation's Capital, Washington DC, USA.

The beginning of the end of the Trump era

The new president is more confident, and radical, than ever—and also more accepted


 Pam Bondi is sworn in as she prepares to testify during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine her expected nomination to be Attorney General, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC.

Pam Bondi seems like a relatively safe pair of hands

But is America’s next attorney-general an independent operator?


Checks and Balance newsletter: Joe Biden’s farewell shot at the oligarchy

The outgoing president warns of a new “tech-industrial complex”

A protest against America’s TikTok ban is mired in contradiction

Another Chinese app is not the alternative some young Americans think it is

Joe Biden wound up serving Donald Trump

In some ways, his administration will look less like an interregnum than like MAGA-lite