Trump Takes Action to Restore Law and Order
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| Source:NBCNews |
President Donald Trump signed three new executive orders Saturday to “restore public safety and protect law enforcement” while addressing rising crime rates in communities across the country.
The president’s first executive order directed newly installed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who engage in crimes against law enforcement officers.” The second order established a task force led by Sessions with the purpose of reducing crime rates and restoring a sense of public safety. The third order cracked down on the “dismantling” of “transnational criminal organizations” by redirecting additional federal governments resources.
The series of new orders are the most significant action the president has taken to deliver on campaign promises to support law enforcement and combat rising crime in many communities.
“Over the last eight years, America has suffered from a declining focus on law and order. Crime reduction will be a White House priority.”
“President Trump stood up for our law enforcement officers and pushed back against the rising tide of crime with three key Executive Orders,” read a statement on the orders released by the White House Saturday. “President Trump’s actions respond to past failures to address rising crime throughout the country.”
As the White House noted, murders spiked drastically in 2015 in “the largest single-year increase in nearly half a century.”
Murders in large cities increased by double digits across the country in 2016, and in Chicago alone, more than 4,000 people were shot.
Noting that “our men and women in blue need to know that we are with them 100 percent as they patrol our streets,” the White House tasked Sessions with vigorously prosecuting every criminal who threatens or targets law enforcement officers as far and as thoroughly as the law will allow. In addition, Sessions is to recommend any new laws he deems necessary and appropriate to protect and prioritize those officers’ safety, thus deterring any potential threats. Over the last eight years, America has suffered from a declining focus on law and order. Crime reduction will be a White House priority,” the press release emphasized in a pointed jab at former President Barack Obama’s administration and policies.
As a boost to compliment the president’s strict immigration policies, the White House vowed to utilize these executive orders to “improve the speed and efficiency of removing aliens who are cartel members or who aid cartels in their criminal activities” by working with the interagency Threat Mitigation Working Group.
These three "desperately needed" executive orders, in particular, seek to build upon Trump's previous executive orders that ordering the construction of a border wall, cracked down on sanctuary cities and ordered law enforcement officers to consistently and thoroughly carry out federal immigration laws.
During a speech on Oct. 9, Trump said, "We’re going to bring back law and order ... We have to bring back respect to law enforcement."
And Saturday's string of executive orders shows that Trump intends to do just that.
