[JURIST] US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed two executive orders on immigration, marking the beginning of Trump’s efforts to fulfill his controversial immigration policy [official websites]. The first order [text], titled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” calls for, among other things, withholding federal funding to cities that provide safe haven to immigrants who have illegally entered the US. The second order [text], titled “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements,” directs the construction of a wall along the US and Mexican border and an increase in the number of enforcement officials to remove undocumented immigrants. Although the order calls for “immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border,” it does not address construction costs, which Trump has continually said would fall to the Mexican government. Trump intimated [CNN report] that Mexico would be willing to pay for the wall because it would lessen the number of people who travel through Mexico from more southern states to reach the US.

Trump’s presidency has begun with significant controversy. On Tuesday a journalist and a graduate student at MIT filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against eight federal agencies for records on Trump’s attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions. The same day, Trump signed [JURIST report] presidential memoranda to progress construction of the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline. The memoranda, which have the legal force of executive orders, also require that materials used in their construction be made in the US. The Trump Administration argues that the pipeline projects will increase job growth and aid the economy. On Monday Trump reinstated [JURIST report] a Reagan-era policy known as the Mexico City Policy that prevents foreign non-governmental organizations from receiving US funding if they provide abortions or promote policies that may lead to abortions.