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U.S. President Donald Trump is moving ahead with his plan to build a new border wall with Mexico- enraging human rights activists across America.
The president signed two executive orders on Wednesday, in a bid to crack down on illegal immigration, vowing to start construction on the wall, within months.
Nina-Maria Potts reports:
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" A nation without borders, is not a nation- beginning today, the United States gets back control of its boders, gets back its borders."
U.S. President Donald Trump has wasted no time this week, in delivering on his campaign pledges, saying the building of a new border wall with Mexico would begin within months.
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Speaking at the Department of Homeland Security, the President announced plans for new restrictions on refugees, and immigrants from Muslim majority countries.
The plan - according to White House officials- includes more detention centers, and federal border control agents...and his administration will strip federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities, which shield illegal immigrants from law enforcement looking to deport federal offenders.
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News of the executive orders, has human rights and immigrants groups up in arms.
Nihad Awad is Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic-Relations (CAIR), the country's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization:
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But President Trump insisted he is driven by natonal security interests- and that he's open to bringing back torture.
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The move had some top Republicans challenging the power of the president- such as Senator John McCain, who insists even if the president were to sign an executive order, the law is the law and the U.S. is not bringing back torture.
Some suggest President Trump's announcements are nothing more than smoke and mirrors, pointing to legislative and congressional hurdles along the way.
Trump administration insiders are briefing there's more to come- such as executive orders that would dramatically reduce America's role in the United Nations.
Still, worth remembering that the number of executive orders President Trump is signing- is not unprecedented- he's keeping pace with his predecessor.