President Donald Trump has begun his second term in office, reasserting in his Monday inaugural address many of the themes familiar to those who watched his run for the White House, and especially to those who supported him. That was followed by a flurry of executive orders — ranging from climate rollbacks, to pardoning of some 1,500 defendants tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Although the executive actions have only just begun, the speech spotlighted the campaign-trail pledges to halt illegal immigration and to declare a “national emergency at our southern border.” Trump also said he will rescind the electric-vehicle mandate and initiate an
“External Revenue Service” to impose tariffs on foreign goods.
There is already legal action brewing to contest specific policy moves — though nothing like the “resistance” movement fostered by Trump’s political opponents in his first term, responding reflexively to every statement. The 2024 election results, with more than half this nation’s voters choosing Trump as the 47th president, have stoppered that impulse.
Hawaii, although it remains a Democratic Party-dominant state, also posted growth in Trump’s column. That means there’s broad resonance around some key points, such as the need for a secure immigration system, and for steps to further address inflation in basic expenses.
For its part, Hawaii’s congressional delegation needs to watch carefully for the new administration’s actions, seeing that they follow through on promises to American families.
On the immigration issue, for example, the view that the immigration system needs to be brought under tighter control is widely accepted, including making the deportation of criminals a top priority. But the way the net is cast, and who is caught in it, is still open to debate.
Hawaii has a history of considering not only the criteria for the admission of immigrants but also their contributions to its economy. In a Honolulu Star-Advertiser op-ed column published Thursday, immigration and civil-rights advocate Amy Agbayani wrote about how immigrants comprise over 20% of Hawaii’s workforce.
The civil-rights theme of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday illuminates how a balanced approach to immigration control should be the north star in securing the borders.
Cost-of-living adjustments are more difficult, as the president himself acknowledged. Grocery prices, which rose following the pandemic, are generally outside government’s reach, although Trump asserts that energy development and deregulation are strategies that would help.
On Monday, Trump’s series of Day 1 executive actions included rescinding 78 of former President Joe Biden’s orders and withdrawing again from the Paris
Climate Agreement, which Biden had rejoined.
Hawaii’s own policy remains one of vigilance about climate-change effects on this island state, and its leaders should work to advance projects funded under the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This legislation included millions of federal dollars for various improvements to mitigate threats from climate change to bridges and highways, as well as infrastructure investments to support electric-vehicle use.
This state’s commitment to green energy is well established, and Hawaii’s congressional delegation and other officials must keep that on track.
Further, the complex work on taxation and budget reforms should be watched, with the goal of protecting social safety-net programs such as Medicaid and the
Affordable Care Act. Such things are kitchen-table concerns for families in Hawaii, and across the nation.
There should be room for cooperation between the new administration and this state; the time for a frozen, partisan resistance is over. Now Hawaii’s leaders’ job is advocacy, laser-focused less on politics than on what Hawaii needs.
