The Japan Times - Trump toughens crackdown on immigration and diversity

The 78-year-old Republican -- who has pledged a "golden age" for America -- halted refugee arrivals and threatened to prosecute local authorities that fail to deport migrants.

As part of his blitz of right-wing measures on his return to office, the billionaire also ordered that all US government employees in diversity programs be put on paid leave from Wednesday.

But there were bumps in the road on his second day in power.

Close adviser Elon Musk, the world's richest man, bashed a Trump-backed AI mega project. And Trump prompted questions when he threatened Russia with sanctions if it doesn't accept a Ukraine peace deal -- something he previously had claimed he would broker within 24 hours.

Trump said he had a been left "lot of work" to do by predecessor Joe Biden, according to an excerpt of an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

- 'Number one priority' -

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said immigration was a "number one priority of the American people" and confirmed that an executive order signed Monday would dispatch 1,500 more troops to the border.

There are already more than 2,000 US soldiers at the frontier to support the US border patrol and police stopping migrants from crossing illegally.

The US Justice Department meanwhile threatened to prosecute local and state authorities if they fail to cooperate with Trump's pledge to deport "millions and millions" of undocumented immigrants.

Trump also halted arrivals of refugees already cleared to enter the United States as part of the crackdown, according to a State Department memo.

Trump has unleashed a record slew of executive actions since his inauguration on Monday, saying he will end "American decline."

Many of them target so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs -- enacted to tackle racism and sexism but which conservatives say discriminate against white people, and white men in particular.

US government workers in diversity offices must be put on paid leave by 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) Wednesday, Leavitt confirmed.

Trump is also ending "radical" affirmative action in awarding federal contracts, revoking an an order crafted to combat racism that dates back to the civil rights era of the 1960s. He likewise targeted "DEI madness" in hiring employees for the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

Leavitt told NBC said Trump would be "returning America to a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin" -- a reference to conservative complaints that programs aimed at encouraging minority success instead shuts out whites.

- Musk criticism -

Trump's approach is being followed throughout the new US administration.

New Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday he will rid his department of work on climate and "cultural" issues -- a turnaround from the Biden era which named the first-ever US special envoy on LGBTQ rights.

Trump has also thrown red meat to his base by pardoning more than a thousand supporters who stormed the US Capitol after he lost the 2020 election.

In a rare public rift in Trump's inner circle, Musk -- who is leading a government cost-cutting drive -- cast doubt on a $500 billion AI project that Trump and a group of tech barons had announced to great fanfare.

The investors, Musk posted on X Wednesday, "don't actually have the money."

The new president continued to feud with the bishop at the National Cathedral, who asked him during her sermon at a service he attended Tuesday to show "mercy" to "scared" migrants and LGBTQ people. Trump lashed out at Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde on social media, calling her "nasty."

Trump is meanwhile pushing for quick wins on the international front, where he is already causing shockwaves among allies and adversaries alike.

He told Russian President Vladimir Putin he would have "no choice" but to impose tariff hikes and more sanctions if Moscow does not make a deal to end the grinding Ukraine war.

K.Tanaka--JT