Since Trump began his second presidential term, he has created civil unrest with his TV- persona antics. It started with targeting and attacking immigrants’ citizenship status, then moved to disregarding the civil rights of U.S residents. While some may agree that migrants should have the proper paperwork to remain in the U.S., ICE raids and public targeting were not widely agreed upon.
Immigration Status and Birthright Citizenship
During Trump’s campaign trail leading up to 2024’s election, he rallied people behind removing undocumented immigrants from a land that was built on the backs of African Americans through slavery, indigenous peoples before European arrival, and through the work of immigrants who gained rights as early as 1790 through the Naturalization Act. As this occurred during his campaign, it is also important to note that birthright citizenship was established by the 14th Amendment for children of immigrants in 1868.
“I’ve announced a permanent pause on third-world migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, and many other countries,” said Trump during his rally in Pennsylvania. “Why is it we only take people from sh-thole countries, right? Why can’t we have some people from Norway and Sweden, just a few? Let us have a few from Denmark. Do you mind sending a few people? Send us some nice people. Do you mind?” Trump said. “But we always take people from Somalia. Places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.” Once elected, Trump signed several executive orders targeting immigrants and even questioning birthright citizenship, which resulted in mass house raids nationwide, detaining undocumented and documented people in front of their families and friends, increasing border control, and increasing funding to homeland security and ICE agents. Detention centers are at an all-time high, holding over 69,000 occupants, and with new terms and regulations for those seeking asylum or a green card, that number is likely to rise.
Trump’s posts on social media also led many to believe that Trump was trying to implement an authoritarian presidency by calling out and arresting media personalities and other high-profile people who questioned his actions since becoming president. This led to many organizations across the country coming together and creating the “No Kings” protests.
“The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings — and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty,” the organizers explain on a website for the rallies.
“I looked at the people. They’re not representative of this country, and I looked at all the brand-new signs paid for. I guess it was paid for by Soros and other radical left lunatics,” the President said. “It looks like it was worth checking out. The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective, and the people were whacked out. When you look at those people, they are not representative of the people of our country.”
Martial Law Soft Launch
While both the ICE and No Kings protests were fairly calm and non-violent, things took a major turn in early January as several people were attacked. Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot at two different protests in Minneapolis. Video footage released to the public showed Good trying to leave the scene of the protest as ICE officers arrived in unmarked cars with face coverings. Agents approached Good’s car, demanding she step out. Good, in fear, tried to drive off and was shot through her front window.
Pretti, an ICU nurse, was killed by a U.S. Border Patrol officer as he was helping a female demonstrator who was shoved to the ground. The Department of Homeland Security said that the man was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Officials did not specify if Pretti brandished the gun, and it is not visible in the bystander video of the shooting released to the public. Trump blamed the deaths of the victims on the victims, further showing disregard for American lives.
International Conflict: Americans & innocent civilians overseas at risk
Nationally, Trump is not a fan favorite, as he repeatedly disrespected foreign leaders and potentially isolated Americans. While the tariffs created friction with Mexico, Canada, and other countries, eyebrows were raised when Trump made comments about withdrawing America from NATO (North American Treaty Organization,) referring to them as unreliable and deeming the alliance a one-way street due to a lack of support during the Iran conflict.
“NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared the president’s sentiment, telling Fox News that “unfortunately, we are going to have to reexamine whether or not this alliance, that has served this country well for a while, is still serving that purpose, or is it now becoming a one-way street?” “After this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship,” Rubio said. “We’re going to have to reexamine the value of NATO and that alliance for our country. Ultimately, that’s a decision for the president to make, and he’ll have to make it.”
The president has alternated between pressuring allies to step up and downplaying their importance, at one point calling NATO’s response a “very foolish mistake” while also insisting the United States “doesn’t need any help.”
Spain blocked U.S. aircraft involved in the Iran conflict from using its airspace and denied access to key bases at Rota and Morón, forcing American forces to reroute missions. France has provided limited logistical support but restricted certain overflight requests tied to military operations, reviewing them on a case-by-case basis.
In Iran, the war has killed at least 2,900 people, including 1,700 civilians, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) in Iran. Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, part of the broader regional conflict, has killed 2,020 people, including 248 women, 165 children, and 87 health workers.
Iran accused the US and Israel of launching an attack on a girls’ school near an IRGC base in southern Iran on February 28. A total of 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed.
President Trump said the initial actions against Iran occurred to prevent their usage of a nuclear weapon and to dismantle their military infrastructure. The US said it was investigating the incident, while Israel said it was “not aware” of any military operations in the area.
Expert video analysis shows a US Tomahawk missile hit a military base near the school, BBC Verify has reported.
On April 7, 2026, the president of the United States wrote these words on social media: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” This post referred to Iran’s unwillingness to sign a peace treaty with the USA.
Lawyers and human rights experts both agreed that Trump’s post “may constitute a threat to commit genocide.” Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said: “Attacking civilians is a war crime. So is making threats to terrorize the civilian population.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has deplored the rhetoric. Even a Republican senator —Ron Johnson of Wisconsin —broke from his party to say: “I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure.”
The Senate failed to pass a war powers resolution that would constrain President Donald Trump’s ability to launch future military action against Iran without congressional approval.
“One thing stands out amid all the chaos, corruption, and disorder: the wanton destructiveness of the Trump presidency,” New York Times’ Thomas B. Edsall laments. “The targets of Trump’s assaults include the law, higher education, medical research, ethical standards, America’s foreign alliances, free speech, the civil service, religion, the media, and much more. Some of the damage Trump has inflicted can be repaired by future administrations, but repairing relations with American allies, the restoration of lost government expertise, and a return to productive research may take years —even with a new and determined president and Congress.”
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, President Donald Trump announced last week, a move that could temporarily ease a conflict that has threatened the two-week truce between the U.S. and Iran. As of April 21, Trump has extended the ceasefire indefinitely.