Among the almost 100 executive orders enacted during President Trump’s first day in office, the administration included an order that has rolled back all federal programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). That inclusion was a significant regression from the Biden administration’s approach to advancing racial equity and for remedying systemic racism. Not surprisingly, shortly  after signing the order, Trump disparagingly attacked this longstanding program as being radical DEI preferencing.
Briefly, the executive order mandates:

• The termination of all DEI initiatives across federal agencies.
• That all federal employees working in DEI roles be placed on paid leave, with plans for eventual layoffs.
• To emphasize so-called Merit-Based Hiring:
• That all federal agencies are directed to review and dismantle DEI-related policies and programs, including those in federal contracting and grant recipients. And
• That federal agencies must only recognize two genders: male and female.

It is NASW’s point of view that Trump’s DE&I executive order will worsen America’s racial disparities related to access to higher paying employment opportunities that have growth potential — while increasing the nation’s economic divide. Of similar importance, ending  successful  DE&I programs greatly slows down the advancement to a “level playing field” for people of color and women  as envisioned by  Civil Rights leaders of the 1960s.

In 2025, the United States is rapidly being transformed into a nation where “minorities” are becoming the majority, the notion of workplace equity and inclusion should be seen as ideal rather than something to be despised.

For example, Trump’s executive order targeting DEI eliminated many previous executive orders that sought to end racial and gender discrimination in the workplace. Chief among them was Trump decision to shutter the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) — created by Lyndon Johnson’s Equal Employment Opportunity Act in 1965.

From our standpoint, it is significant — and ominous— that Trump’s DE&I ban is also being forced on the private sector. It is notable that on the day following  the public DE&I executive order announcement, Trump signed  an addendum presidential action that directed government agencies to “combat illegal private sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”  This directive goes on to instruct the Attorney General —in collaboration with the heads of government agencies— to submit a report with recommendations  to “deter [private sector] DEI programs or principles (whether specifically designated ‘DEI’ or otherwise) that constitute illegal discrimination or preferences.”

All of which demonstrate how aggressive and far-reaching attacks on DE&I the Trump administration intends to be.  This fact should serve as an alert to NASW — and our like-minded social justice allies— that we all must be fully committed to an informational counter-offensive aimed at protecting critical diversity and inclusion policies and programs.

Donald Trump issued more than 100 Executive Orders (EOs) on January 20, the first day of his presidency.

Chief among them was a series of EOs dealing with immigration/migration which – in the opinion of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) – represent an unparalleled departure from the values, principles and policies that have long affirmed the United States as a nation that welcomes immigrants.

In particular, NASW is deeply concerned about aspects of the EOs that include mass deportation and/or family separation; ending birthright citizenship; deploying military personnel to the border; and creating vastly expanded immigrant/migrant detention centers – especially family and child detention facilities.

By targeting mostly vulnerable individuals and families, the new administration promotes a climate of fear in immigrant communities – many of whom have lived and worked in the U.S. for decades.

Trump’s EOs focusing on undocumented migrants on the nation’s southwest border are mostly aimed at stopping the flow of unauthorized border crossing from Mexico, as well as asylum seekers presenting themselves on the U.S. side of the border reand questing legal entry based on conditions – such as violence – in their home countries.

Nations have the right to protect their borders, but NASW is against policies that disregard human and civil rights

We should be reminded that such border crossings are not new, and seeking asylum from violence and persecution is covered by American immigration laws. However, while we recognize that all sovereign nations have a right to secure its borders, NASW opposes the tactics and disregard for protecting human and civil rights that the Trump EOs present.

For instance, NASW takes issue with the following policies and procedures found in the immigration EOs:

– The EO dealing with the Militarization of border enforcement  states that the military must treat border security not as a law enforcement matter, but as  full-scale military campaign. The EO’s position represents a departure from an over 150-year-old policy that essentially forbade the use of the military for domestic operations. For that reason, the Trump administration intends to apply the 1798 Alien Enemies Act as the legal authority for employing the military for sealing the border. The act permits the president to target immigrants without a hearing and based only on their country of birth or citizenship. For this and other reasons, use of the military for border security presents significant challenges, such as:

• • Remain in Mexico policy – The Remain in Mexico Policy EO will require many asylum seekers at the southern border to wait in Mexico for their hearings in U.S. immigration court. This policy began and was implemented during the first Trump administration in 2019. The result was tens of thousands of migrants being held for extended amounts of time in Mexico. The main opposition to the Remain in Mexico policy are human rights violations that resulted from migrants being forced into squalid camps – often exposing them to violence from drug cartels, and sexual violence.
  • Family Separation owes its existence as a policy to the first Trump administration via the current “Border Czar, Tom Homan, and the White House Senior Policy Advisor, Steven Miller. This policy –  which was abandoned by the Biden administration – has been resurrected as a part of the Trump’s current mass deportation EO. Family separation is particularly insidious in its purposeful disregard for the life altering emotional and economic impact it has on migrant families and children.

NASW’s concerns about the overall mass deportation EO are directed not only to the administration’s approach to securing the southwest border.  We are equally concerned about the fact that once operationalized the mass deportation program could and will affect millions of people residing nearly every state in the union.

Immigration executive orders put vulnerable children at great risk

It is this wide breadth of individuals and families that will be caught up in this program that elevates NASW’s apprehension about its potentially destructive outcomes. NASW is particularly disturbed about the degree to which children with be directly or indirectly affected.

For example, there will be will severe threats and consequences to the safety and long-term well-being of millions of children who are members of mixed-status immigrant families, including children who are U.S. citizens. The data are clear, for example:

• About 360,000 U.S.-born children of parents with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and 300,000 U.S.-born children with at least one parent with DACA are at risk of losing a parent, given the incoming administration’s intentions to strip these statuses and make TPS and DACA recipients vulnerable to deportation.
• Even children whose parents are not at risk of being deported experience fear and anxiety because they do not always understand what form of status their parents may have.
• Two million children had at least one unauthorized immigrant parent in 2018. Eighty-five percent of these children, or 4.4 million, are U.S. citizens.

 Assocation is against stripping birthright citizenship

This leads to NASW’s strong objection to Trump’s EO that declares an end to birthright citizenship. First of all, there is no dispute among experts and scholars that birthright citizenship is a Constitutionally guaranteed right covered by the 14th Amendment.  Secondly, it is not coincidental that the birthright citizenship provision is included in one of the most important Constitutional amendments — that gave full citizenship to formerly enslaved African Americans The recognized birthright citizenship as an unassailable principle that affirmed the country’s commitment to equality.

That the Trump administration is attacking this principle as way to achieve its anti-immigrant goals is an afront to the Constitutional concept of equality, and the American value of inclusion. The idea of ending birthright citizenship is also in stark contrast to social work ethics and values.

In addition, NASW and the immigration community are deeply disappointed that Trump’s EO no longer requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to adhere to the protected area policy  . To end this policy is unconscionable.  The decision will invariably result in emotionally and social anguish for families, children in mixed status families and to the communities in which they reside.

 Rescinding Protected Area Policies

With respect to the expected widespread undocumented immigrant raids, we only need to look back on the mass deportation raids that took place during the Eisenhower Administration in 1955  to realize how inhumane and unjust such actions are. This was the largest mass deportation in U.S., affecting about 1.3 million people. It is likely that the Trump mass deportation raids will be exponentially more disruptive for individuals and families .

In addressing such concerns for inhumane treatment and other abuses during Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) raids, the Biden administration created a protected areas policy. This policy prohibited (ICE) from conducting raids at such locations as churches, schools and hospitals.

However, to the deep disappointment of NASW and the immigration community, one of Trump’s immigrations EOs states that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is no longer required to adhere to the protected area policy. To end this policy is unconscionable.  The decision will invariably result in emotionally and social anguish for families, children in mixed status families, and to the communities in which they reside.

Resources

Brennan Center for Justice

The Alien Enemies Act

 Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN)

Toolkit: Protecting Immigrant Families Facing Deportation

 Immigration Hub (Amigos

 MEMO: Trump’s Day One Immigration Overhaul

 Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights

Trump Administration Civil and Human Rights Rollbacks

 National Immigration Law Center (NILC)

Trump’s Day 1 Executive Orders: Unconstitutional, Illegal, and Cruel

President Joe Biden on June 3 issued an Executive Order (EO) to temporarily suspend the processing of most asylum claims at the southern U.S. border when the seven-day average of unauthorized crossings exceeds 2,500 people. The executive order, which became effectively immediately, declares that:

• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, migrants who cross the Mexican border without authorization would not be eligible for asylum and will be subject to expedited removal.
• There is a stricter interpretation of the credible fear provision – being afraid of persecution or torture in their native country –  for granting an asylum hearing.

As reported, the Biden administration has been under significant pressure to “do something” about the so-called burden of migrants on the nation’s resources – which by many accounts is overstated. It is without a doubt that Biden’s executive order was issued in response to those pressures. However, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is deeply disappointed that Biden chose such stringent measures to achieve that objective. We think the measures as articulated in the executive order are unacceptable.

This is a policy that has a singular objective of closing the U.S. border to individuals and families seeking asylum from violence and oppression. Therefore, the administration should not be surprised that advocates for communities impacted by the order are rightfully apprehensive about the consequences of the policy. This is especially true given that it is fully legal for refugees to seek asylum once they enter the country, yet the Biden administration’s executive order appears to disregard  that fact.

For those reasons, it is clear to NASW that President Biden must commit to doing all that is necessary to prevent and mitigate all unintended consequences of his executive order – chief among which are consequences that lead to family separation.

In addition, the administration must aggressively reassure immigrant families and individuals – such as dreamers – that the EO is not an indication that the administration has abandoned its commitment to comprehensive immigration reform. The Biden Administration must fulfill its promise to immigrant communities, and uphold the values of health, dignity, and justice.