First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement"

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⭐ Core Definition: First presidency of Donald Trump

Donald Trump's first tenure as the president of the United States began on January 20, 2017, when Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president, and ended on January 20, 2021.

Trump, a Republican from New York, took office after defeating the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Upon his inauguration, he became the first president in American history without prior public office or military background. Trump made an unprecedented number of false or misleading statements during his 2016 campaign and first presidency. Alongside Trump's first presidency, the Republican Party also held their majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate during the 115th U.S. Congress following the 2016 elections, attained an overall federal government trifecta. His presidency ended following his defeat to former Democratic vice president Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

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👉 First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; pronounced "ice") is a federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the United States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to conduct criminal investigations, enforce immigration laws, preserve national security, and protect public safety. ICE was created as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the September 11 attacks. It absorbed the prior functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Customs Service.

ICE has been involved in multiple controversies throughout its existence, with significant increases in criticism during the first and especially the second administration of Donald Trump. Following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025 as part of Trump's hardline immigration policy, ICE became the largest and most well-funded federal law enforcement agency in U.S. history. Its aggressive and anonymized enforcement actions, controversial publicity campaigns, and militarization resulted in significant drops in public support and raised concerns over legality, lack of accountability, and civil rights violations. ICE agents are noted for wearing masks, civilian clothing, and using unmarked vehicles to protect their identity. The agency has been the subject of widespread protests particularly in 2018 and 2025, with some activists calling for its abolition. Since its expansion, the agency has been described by critics, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, as a growing paramilitary force under Trump's personal control.

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First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of Egypt–Israel barrier

The Egypt–Israel barrier or Egypt–Israel border fence (Hebrew: שְׁעוֹן הַחוֹל, romanizedSheʽon HaḤol, lit.'sand clock') refers to a separation barrier built by Israel along its border with Egypt. Initial construction on the barrier began on 22 November 2010, and its original purpose as a common fence was to curb the large influx of illegal migrants from African countries into Israel. However, in the wake of the Egyptian Crisis after the 2011 Revolution, Israel's southwestern border with Egypt experienced an increase in militant jihadist activity with the outbreak of the Sinai insurgency. In response, Israel upgraded the steel barrier—called Project Hourglass by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)—to include cameras, radars, and motion detectors. In January 2013, construction on the barrier's main section was completed; the final section was completed in December 2013.

A number of countries, including the United States and India, have sent delegations to Israel to observe its border-controlling capabilities and the various technologies used by the IDF to secure Israel's boundaries against the Arab states. Some of these countries have expressed an interest in implementing Israeli strategies and technologies with their own border fences; the Trump administration cited Israel's border strategies as inspiration for the barrier built by the United States along its border with Mexico, while Indian officials have discussed the implementation of an "Israel-type model" for the barrier built by India along its border with Pakistan.

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First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of United States recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel

On March 25, 2019, the United States officially recognized the Golan Heights as being under the sovereignty of Israel. Signed into effect by the Trump administration, the U.S. presidential proclamation marked the first instance of any country recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights; the territory is viewed as part of Syria under international law, though it has been under an Israeli military occupation since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. In 1981, Israel's government passed the Golan Heights Law — a de facto annexation of the territory.

Israeli officials lobbied the United States into recognizing "Israeli sovereignty" over the territory. The U.S. recognition was seen as a political gift from American president Donald Trump, in a bid to help Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu gain a favorable standing among voters in the then-upcoming April 2019 legislative election. It was condemned by a number of countries and organizations, including the United Nations and the European Union (see § Reactions). The Syrian government rejected the U.S. statement, describing it as a "blatant attack" on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The recognition continued under the successor Biden administration.

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First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of Mexico–United States border crisis

The Mexico–United States border crisis is an ongoing migrant crisis in North America concerning the illegal migration of people into the United States across the Mexico-United States border. U.S. presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both referred to surges in migrants at the border as a "crisis" during their tenure. Following a decline in migrants crossing the border during the first Trump administration, illegal border crossings surged during the Biden administration, with over 7.2 million migrants encountered between January 2021 and January 2024, not counting gotaways. Experts have attributed the increase in attempted crossings to pent-up demand, changes in global migration patterns, a change of perceptions by migrants about the ease of crossing, and incentives for migrants to try to cross again after Title 42 expulsions. The number of migrants sent back increased as a result, though the percentage sent back decreased. Border apprehensions fell back to 2020 levels in mid-2024.

The migrants, who are mostly of Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Honduran, and Venezuelan citizenship, are reported to be escaping economic hardship, gang violence and environmental disaster in their home countries (particularly acute in Guatemala and Honduras) to seek asylum in the US. Unlike the demographic of migrants in the preceding years, an increasing proportion of current migrants arriving at the Mexico–US border are children, including unaccompanied children and from countries outside Latin America.

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First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of First inauguration of Donald Trump

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of the first term of Trump as president and the only term of Mike Pence as vice president. An estimated 300,000 to 600,000 people attended the public ceremony held on Friday, January 20, 2017, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The event was the 58th presidential inauguration. Held in Washington, D.C., from January 17 to 21, 2017, inaugural events included concerts, the swearing-in ceremony, a congressional luncheon, parade, inaugural balls, and the interfaith inaugural prayer service. The inauguration was protested worldwide.

Administered by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, the presidential oath was taken by Trump as his first task after becoming president, in keeping with Article Two, Section 1, Clause 8 and the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, with the vice presidential oath taken by Pence and administered by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas immediately preceding it. Trump was sworn in with his left hand on a pair of Bibles: his personal copy and the Lincoln Bible.

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First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign

Donald Trump ran a successful campaign for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He formally announced his campaign on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City, initially battling for the Republican Party's nomination. On May 26, 2016, he became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee. Trump was officially nominated on July 19 at the Republican National Convention. He chose Mike Pence, the sitting governor of Indiana, as his vice presidential running mate. On November 8, Trump and Pence were elected president and vice president of the United States.

Trump's populist positions in opposition to illegal immigration and various trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, earned him support especially among voters who were male, white, blue-collar, working class, and those without college degrees. Many voters in the Rust Belt, who gave Trump the electoral votes needed to win the presidency, switched from supporting Bernie Sanders to Trump after Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination.

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First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of 115th United States Congress

The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January 3, 2019, during the final weeks of Barack Obama's presidency and the first two years of Donald Trump's first presidency. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States census.

The Republican Party retained their majority in both the House and the Senate, and, with the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, attained an overall federal government trifecta, a position they had last attained in 2005 with the 109th Congress.

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First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of 116th United States Congress

The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021, during the final two years of Donald Trump's first presidency. Senators elected to regular terms in 2014 finished their terms in this Congress, and House seats were apportioned based on the 2010 census.

In the November 2018 midterm elections, the Democratic Party won a new majority in the House, while the Republican Party increased its majority in the Senate. Consequently, this was the first split Congress since the 113th Congress of 2013–2015, and the first Republican Senate–Democratic House split since the 99th Congress of 1985–1987. This Congress was the youngest incoming class by mean age, compared to the previous three the incoming class of freshman representatives, and the most demographically diverse in history.

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First presidency of Donald Trump in the context of 117th United States Congress

The 117th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2021, during the final weeks of Donald Trump's first presidency and the first two years of Joe Biden's presidency and ended on January 3, 2023.

The 2020 elections decided control of both chambers. In the House of Representatives, the Democratic Party retained their majority, albeit reduced from the 116th Congress. It was similar in size to the majority held by the Republican Party during the 83rd Congress (1953–1955).

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