President Trump announces executive actions: National emergency on southern border, increased oil drilling, gender and more

Donald Trump took oath as the 47th President of the United States.

As he made a return to the White House, US President Donald Trump in his post-inauguration speech said “America’s golden age" has begun. He said that the “decay of America" comes to an end with his ascent to the Oval Office.

He is set to declare a "national emergency" at the US-Mexico border, declare drug cartels as terrorists, and scrap government diversity programmes as part of a blitz of executive orders. In his post inauguration speech, Trump also said he will end what he says has been government policy to bring race and gender into "every aspect of public and private life," vowing to forge a society that is "colour-blind and merit-based" instead.

“The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer," Trump said.

Here is a list of Trump's executive actions.

National emergency and immigration crackdown

Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, emphasising the need to address illegal immigration and border security. “We will send millions of criminal aliens back to where they came from,” Trump stated. “Troops will be deployed to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”

He committed to reinstating the “remain in Mexico” policy. It requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their cases are processed. Trump also announced plans to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations and invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, empowering federal and state agencies to dismantle foreign gangs and criminal networks operating within the US.

“All illegal entry will be immediately halted, and the process of deporting millions of illegal aliens will begin,” he added.

Gender 

The US president said that his government's official policy would only recognise two genders. "I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life... As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."

Tarrif and trade

Trump said  he'll immediately begin an overhaul of trade, and that he is establishing the "External Revenue Service" to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues. He says these revenues will come from "foreign sources".

"The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before," the president said.

Drilling of oil

Trump repeated his promise that his administration will ramp up drilling of oil and gas on US soil.

"America will be a manufacturing nation once again," he says, adding that America sits on "the most oil and natural gas of any nation on earth, and we're going to use it." "Drill baby drill," he said to applause.

Strengtheningmilitary and foreign policy

Trump vowed to rebuild the armed forces, focusing on their primary mission of defeating America’s enemies. “We will create the strongest military the world has ever seen,” he declared. “We will end wars and ensure wars never begin. I want to be a peacemaker and unifier.”

The president proposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, reflecting his administration’s vision of a reasserted America.

Trump also addressed black and Hispanic communities in the US, and thanked them for "the tremendous outpouring of love and trust".

"I heard your voices in the campaign, and I look forward to working with you," he says.

What are executive orders?

They are signed statements about how the president wants the federal government to be managed. They can be instructions to federal agencies or requests for reports. During his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed 220.