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The amount of wrong information circulating on the internet is alarming.The way things are being presented to people by self declared intellectuals shows how important it is to form opinions of our own instead of borrowing it from others. I would like to state some facts about the CAA and NRC, the readers can cross check the facts and decide on their own. This might seem like a long answer since we need to start from the very beginning of the birth of two Nations so please bear with me.NRC – National Register of CitizensHistory : Post Partition, East Pakistan suffered from political turmoil & witnessed civil unrest which finally led to a civil war & separation of East Pakistan from Pakistan and a new country Bangladesh came into being consisting of all the geographical area of erstwhile East Pakistan. There occurred mass exodus of population from the war-torn regions into the Indian side and most of these refugees never returned. Excerpts from the White Paper on Foreigners' Issue published by the Home & Political Department, Government of Assam on 20 October 2012 – Chapter 1, Historical Perspective, section 1.2 reads:'Following Partition and communal riots in the subcontinent, Assam initially saw an influx of refugees and other migrants from East Pakistan. The number of such migrants other than refugees was initially reported by the State Government to be between 1,50,000 and 2,00,000 but later estimated to be around 5,00,000.'Even after the end of civil war & the formation of Bangladesh, migration continued, though illegally. The Government of India already had in it's stock of statutes, the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950. This act came into effect from 1 March 1950 which mandated expulsion of illegal immigrants from the state of Assam. To identify illegal immigrants, the National Register of Citizens was prepared for the first time in Assam during the conduct of 1951 Census. It was carried out under a directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) by recording particulars of every single person enumerated during that Census. Practical implementation of the act was difficult & the measures taken under this act proved ineffective largely due to the vast stretch of the open border between the countries and illegal immigrants pushed out of India at one point of it could easily infiltrate again at some other unmanned point.The issue of illegal infiltration was becoming formidable problem in the state of Assam as migrants enjoyed political patronage. The Registrar General of Census in his report on 1961 Census assessed 2,20,691 infiltrators to have entered Assam.In the year 1965, the government of India took up with the government of Assam to expedite completion of the National Register of Citizens and to issue National Identity Cards on the basis of this register to Indian citizens towards the identification of illegal immigrants. But in 1966 the Central Government dropped the proposal to issue identity cards in consultation with the Government of Assam, having found the project impracticable.In a notification issued by the Government of India in the year 1976, the State government was instructed not to deport persons coming from Bangladesh to India prior to March 1971.Thus between 1948 and 1971, there were large scale migrations from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) to Assam.Given this continuing influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam, suddenly a group of student leaders in 1979 came out in fierce protest demanding detention, disenfranchisement and deportation of illegal immigrants from Assam. The events quickly developed into a mass movement which came to be known as Assam Agitation or Assam Movement led by All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) and lasted 6 years. Reportedly considered by various intellectuals and media forums as one of the largest mass movement in the history of the world led by students’ union, this six-year-long agitation left behind thousands of bleeding hearts, empty wombs, and bloodstained fields. The movement culminated in the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) - the Assam Accord, between the agitating parties & the Union of India on 15 August 1985, at the behest of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi.The Accord ended the agitation but could not end the illegal migration. Further it had negotiated defect which called for 1 January 1966 to be the precise date based on which the detection illegal immigrants in Assam would take place and thus ironically allowing Indian citizenship for all persons coming to the territorial limits of the present-day state of Assam from "Specified Territory" (East Pakistan, presently Bangladesh since 1971) prior to that date. Along with came a new Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983 which described a controversial procedure to detect illegal immigrants and their expulsion from the state of Assam. Indian citizenship act, 1955 was accordingly amended almost immediately to incorporate provisions by dint of the accord. The act further specified that all persons who came to Assam between to 1 January 1966 (inclusive) and up to 24 March 1971 (midnight) shall be detected in accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964. The name of foreigners so detected would be deleted from the Electoral Rolls in force. Such persons will be required to register themselves before the Registration Officers of the respective districts in accordance with the provisions of the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 and the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1939. Foreigners who came to Assam on or after 25 March 1971 shall continue to be detected, deleted and expelled in accordance with law.ROLE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIAThe process of detecting and expelling immigrants suffered from teething problems for a considerable amount of time. In fact, the first attempt of systematically detecting foreigners by updating the National Register in Assam was through a Pilot Project which was started in 2 circles (referred to as Tehsil in some states), one in Kamrup district and another in Barpeta district in the year 2010, which had to be aborted within 4 weeks amidst a huge law and order problem involving a mob attack on the Office of the IAS Commissioner, Barpeta that resulted in police firing killing 4 persons. For a long time, since the bitter experience in the pilot project, NRC update was considered almost an impossible task by the government agencies.However, the task was again finally taken up at the behest of the Supreme Court of India’s order in the year 2013 in regards to two writ petitions filed by Assam Public Works and Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha & Ors. wherein the Supreme Court, headed by the bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, mandated the Union Government and the State Government to complete the updation of NRC, in accordance with Citizenship Act, 1955 and Citizenship Rules, 2003, in all parts of Assam. Pursuant to the directive of the apex Court, the Registrar General of India via its notification Number S.O. 3591 E dated 6 December 2013 notified commencing of NRC updation.Since then, the Supreme Court of India has been closely monitoring the process and holding regular hearings on representations made to it by various interested parties & stakeholders.To make the process of NRC update smooth, the Supreme Court in its order dated 21 July 2015 passed the following directions:'We make it clear that complaints with regard to any obstruction in the matter of preparation/update of NRC by any person or authority may first be brought to the notice of the Court appointed Committee and the said Committee, upon due enquiry, will submit necessary report to the Registry of this Court where after the same will be brought to notice of the Bench.''We expect all authorities to act faithfully and diligently to carry out their assigned tasks to ensure smooth preparation of NRC and publication thereof within the schedule fixed by us. This is in reiteration of the mandate contained in Article 144 of the Constitution of India. It is not necessary for us to emphasis that any person found to be creating any obstruction or hindrance, in any manner, in the preparation of the NRC would be subjected to such orders as this Court would pass in such eventualities.'In reference to Article 144 of the Constitution of India, all authorities, civil and judicial, in the territory of India shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.METHODOLOGYThe mechanism adopted to update the NRC 1951 has been developed from scratch owing to the fact that there is no precedence of such a mammoth task ever undertaken in India or elsewhere that involved identification of genuine citizens and detection of illegal immigrants using technology since it involved data of over 3 crore people and over 6.6 crore documents.If any one wants to see his name in the selected list of the citizens of Assam then they have to submit a form with any ‘List A’ documents to prove his residence in the state before March 25, 1971.If anybody claims that his/ her ancestors are native residents of the Assam then he/she has to submit a form with any document mentioned in the ‘List B’.List A documents includes;Electoral Rolls upto March 25, 1971NRC of 1951Land and Tenancy RecordsCitizenship CertificatePermanent Resident CertificatePassportBank or LIC documentsPermanent Residential CertificateEducational Certificates and Court order RecordsRefugee Registration CertificateList B documents includes;Land documentsBoard or University CertificatesBirth CertificateBank/LIC/Post office recordsRation cardElectoral RollsOther legally acceptable documentsA Circle Officer or Gram Panchayat Secretary Certificate for married womenThe process of NRC update is divided into the following phases:‌Publication of Legacy Data‌Distribution & Receipt of Application Form‌Verification Process‌Publication of Part Draft NRC‌Complete Publication of Draft NRC‌Receipt and Disposal of Claims & Objections‌Publication of Final NRCHow is verification carried out?The updating process started in May 2015 and ended on 31 August 2015. A total of 3.29 crore people applied through 68.31 lakh applications. The process of verification involved house-to-house field verification, determination of authenticity of documents, family tree investigations in order to rule out bogus claims of parenthood and linkages and separate hearings for married women.NRC in data: The government has spent around 1200 cr rupees on the NRC process, 55000 government officials were involved and 64.4 million documents were examined in the whole process.Final NRC list releasedAssam final NRC list released on 31st August 2019. This list excluded 19,06,657 people while 3,11,21,004 make it to citizenship list. A total of 3,30,27,661 people had applied for it.Creation of additional Foreigners' Tribunals & Construction of Detention Camps.On May 30, 2019, the Government of India passed a Foreigners' (Tribunals) Amendment Order 2019, which allows all states & UTs within the union of India to constitute their own Foreigners' Tribunals, earlier unique to the state of Assam only, to address the question of citizenship of a person. The amendment empowers district magistrates in all states and union territories to set up Foreigners' Tribunals to detect foreigners. Following the Amendment, the provincial Government of Assam has initiated the process of establishing 400 additional Foreigners' Tribunals out of which 200 are made functional since beginning of September 2019. The Government of the state is also set to construct ten more detention camps besides six already in place in anticipation of the possible requirement to house a large number of illegal foreigners who may be declared as such by the Foreigners' Tribunals.Does exclusion from the list mean declaration of foreigner?No; those excluded from the list can apply to the foreigners tribunals which are quasi judicial bodies exists under the 1964 law. These people can appeal to these tribunals within 120 days from the release of the list.If anybody is declared foreigner at foreigners tribunals then he/she can approach to the higher courts. If somebody is declared foreigner by the courts then he/she can be arrested in the detention centre. As of July 2019; there are 1,17,164 persons have been declared foreigners out of which 1,145 are in the detention.Timeline of NRC1948: There were no restrictions on the movements of persons from India to Pakistan or vice versa even after Partition till July 19, 1948, when ‘Influx from West Pakistan (Control) Ordinance, 1948’ came into existence. Later, the Constitution of India formalized this as the cut-off date that entitled the Right to citizenship of certain migrants from Pakistan.1950: Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act came into force from March 1, 1950, following influx of refugees from then East Pakistan to Assam after partition.1951: The first-ever NRC of India was published in Assam based on Census Report of 1951 containing 80 lakh citizens.1955: The Citizenship Act came into force that codified rules for Indian citizenship by birth, descent and registration.1957: Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act was repealed.1960: The bill was passed in the Assam legislative assembly to make Assamese the only official language.1964: The Centre issued the Foreigners’ Tribunal Order under the Foreigners’ Act, 1964.1964-1965: Influx of refugees from East Pakistan due to disturbances in that country.1971: Fresh influx due to riot and war in East Pakistan. Bangladesh comes into existence.1979: Anti-foreigners’ movement started in Assam in 1979.1979-1985: Six-year-long Assam agitation, spearheaded by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) for detection, disenfranchisement and deportation of foreigners.1980: All Assam Students' Union (AASU) submitted the first memorandum demanding updating of NRC to Centre on January 18, 1980.1983: Massacre at Nellie in Central Assam which claimed the lives of over 3,000 people. Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act passed.1985: Assam Accord signed by the Centre, the state, AASU and AAGSP in the presence of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on the midnight of August 14. It stated, among other clauses, that foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971 shall be expelled.1990: AASU submitted modalities to update NRC to Centre as well State Government in 1990.1997: Election Commission decides to add 'D' (doubtful) against names of voters whose claim to Indian citizenship is doubtful.1999: Centre took the first formal decision to update the NRC as per the Assam Accord’s cut-off date to detect illegal foreigners during a tripartite meeting between Centre, State Government and AASU on November 17, 1999.2003: The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was introduced. Among other changes to the 1955 law, it said anyone born in India between 1950-1987 is an Indian citizen. Anyone born between 1987-2003 is a citizen provided one of the parents is Indian. Anyone born in India since 2004 is a citizen provided one of the parents is Indian and other is not an ‘illegal immigrant’ at the time.2005: Supreme Court strikes down IMDT Act as unconstitutional. Tripartite meeting among Centre, state government and AASU decides to update 1951 NRC. But no major development takes place.2006: Central government issued the Foreigners (Tribunal) Amendment Order, exempting Assam from the 1964 tribunal order.2009: Assam Public Works (APW), an NGO, files case in Supreme Court praying for deletion of foreigners's name in electoral rolls and updation of NRC.2010: Pilot project starts in Chaygaon, Barpeta to update NRC. Project successful in Chaygaon. Four killed in violence in Barpeta. Project shelved.2013: Supreme Court takes up APW petition, directs Centre, state to begin the process for updating NRC. NRC State Coordinator's office set up.2015: Updation of NRC process begins.2016: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. It proposed to facilitate citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.2017: On December 31 midnight, Draft NRC published with names of 1.9 crore of total 3.29 crore applicants.2018: Another Draft NRC published, 40 lakh of 2.9 crore people excluded on July 30.2019: Publication of Additional Draft Exclusion List of 1,02,462 was released on July 26.2019: Final NRC released on August 31.CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT - 2019Citizenship Amendment Act - is an Act to speed up citizenship process for minority refugees who came into India from 3 neighbouring countries.Legislative historyThe Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016 as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. It was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 12 August 2016. The Committee submitted its report on 7 January 2019 to Parliament. The Bill was taken into consideration and passed by Lok Sabha on 8 January 2019. It was pending for consideration and passing by the Rajya Sabha. Consequent to dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha, this Bill has lapsed.Subsequently after the formation of 17th Lok Sabha, the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, on 4 December 2019 for introduction in the parliament.The Bill was introduced in 17th Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on 9 December 2019 and was passed on 10 December 2019, with 311 MPs voting in favour and 80 against the Bill.The bill was subsequently passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019 with 125 votes in favour and 105 votes against it.Those voted in favour included BJP allies such as Janata Dal (United), AIADMK, Biju Janata Dal, TDP and YSR-Congress.After receiving assent from the President of India on 12 December 2019, the bill assumed the status of an act.The act will come into force on a date chosen by the Government of India, and will be notified as such.The first hearing by the Supreme Court of India on 60 petitions challenging the Act was on 18 December 2019. During the first hearing, the court declined to stay implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. The court has set January 22, 2020 as the next date of hearing.Who does CAA affect ?CAA affects immigrants/refugees, not Indian Citizens - whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh etc.CAA is for refugees who came into India from Pakistan/Bangladesh/Afghanistan, not any other nation.CAA is only for those refugees who came into India before Dec 31 2014, not after.CAA is for refugees who came into India based on religious persecution reasons in those 3 countries.What does CAA do ?CAA reduces the waiting time for citizenship from the usual 11 years to 5 years for Hindu/Buddhist/Sikh/Parsi/Christian refugeesCAA keeps waiting time at the usual 11 years for Muslim refugees.CAA does not deny citizenship to any refugee - whether they are Muslim/Hindu, whether they came for religious/economic reasons.The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA) can be broadly considered to be an immigration amnesty scheme.It does not confer citizenship upon anyone but merely removes the disability on Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan from acquisition of citizenship by “naturalization”, if they are illegal immigrants (those who have entered the country without valid travel documents or overstayed).They, however, still have to satisfy the Third Schedule of the Citizenship Act 1955 to acquire citizenship.Presently, there is no legal way for illegal immigrants from these countries to acquire Indian citizenship.It is the identification of the communities by name that has created some questions on whether such a law passes the muster of our “secular” Constitution.Here, we need to look into the scheme of citizenship in the Constitution.In 1947, the Constitution makers had the unenviable task of putting a square peg in a round hole.On one hand, they had to accept the cold hard fact of mass migration of Hindus from Pakistan (includes present Bangladesh), and on the other hand, ideologically, they were unwilling to accept the two-nation theory.The compromise was five articles in the Constitution that accommodated these twin concerns (Articles 5 to 10).The basic crux of these provisions was that anyone born in India and domiciled in India would be an Indian citizen (Article 5); if he has entered from the territory of Pakistan or Bangladesh, he has to register (Article 6).Under Article 7, anyone migrating to Pakistan from India will lose Indian citizenship if they have migrated to the Islamic nation.Thereafter, Article 8 extends citizenship to persons of Indian origin and Article 9 terminates Indian citizenship upon acquisition of foreign citizenship.Finally. Article 10 seals it with the mandate that the citizenship of persons having acquired the same under these provisions cannot be taken away.These provisions do not identify the communities by name but clearly creates a de-facto policy favouring the Hindu and Sikh immigrants from Pakistan over largely Muslim emigrants from India.This is not occasioned by any malice towards the Muslims, but simply an acknowledgement of the fact that the erstwhile Pakistan (Pakistan + Bangladesh) is an Islamic country (as per 1949 Objectives Resolution and later the Constitution of Bangladesh), and given the nature of politics of these countries, the return of the Hindu/Sikh migrants would never be possible.The liberals, in their desire to paint a secular Constitution, choose to ignore this policy.Post commencement of the Constitution, the power to enact a law for acquisition and termination of citizenship was left to the Parliament (Article 11).The Constitution offers no direction as to how this power is to be exercised.However, since all laws in India have to be in accordance with provision of Part-III, (fundamental rights), the liberals argue that even acquisition of citizenship has to comply with a principle of “secularism”.Why is the northeast and others protest against CAA?The opposition to the CAA has been widespread but especially vociferous in the north-eastern states. Assam and Meghalaya saw internet shutdowns and imposition of curfew. The protests took a grim turn with reports of four deaths during the crackdown by the police and armed forces on protestors.The north-eastern states for long faced large scale migration from neighbouring countries and resultant protests from indigenous residents over the strain this migration placed on the social, economic and political fabric of the region. The protests against the provisions of the CAA in these states is against legitimisation of all immigrants from any country irrespective of their faith rather than excluding only Muslims.However, The Citizenship (Amendment) Act does not apply to tribal areas of Tripura, Mizoram, Assam and Meghalaya because of being included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Also areas that fall under the Inner Limit notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, will also be outside the Act's purview. This keeps almost entire Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland out of the ambit of the Act.Apart from the above exceptions, the law shall be applicable across all states. The Chief Ministers of Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have stated that they will not implement the act in their respective states alleging it to be against the exclusion of Muslims and thereby against the ethos of the Constitution. However, the states may not have the power to refuse implementation of the law, as it is enacted under the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.Why does CAA differentiate based on religion?CAA is designed to help minorities - based on definition. Pakistan/Bangladesh/Afghanistan are 'Islamist Republics' based on their constitution. Hence other religions are considered secondary/minority to Islam.CAA is meant to help minorities - based on population. Those 3 countries have religious minority population between 3-10%. During 1971 Pakistan-Bangladesh liberation, Hindu population was ~23% in Bangladesh. Currently it is 9%CAA is designed to help minorities - based on persecution. Minorities in those 3 countries have historically faced trauma - conversion, exodus, rape & murder.Why does CAA differentiate based on country?4 other neighbours - Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar - have a 'secular' constitution. While they may have a dominant religion (like Buddhism), and while the minority religions may be ill-treated occasionally, such persecution does not have State sanction and could be just the result of a particular government's policies.CAA does not deal with religious minorities of other nations - the goal of first iteration is to start by helping refugees from neighbouring countries.Is CAA against Muslims?Against Indian Muslims ? NO. No current Indian citizen will be asked to prove citizenship.Against Refugee Muslims ? NO. No refugee Muslim is denied citizenship, nor their waiting time is increased.For Refugee Minorities ? YES. Waiting time of citizenship is reduced.Objects of the legislationNow the objectives of the legislation are two fold, namely:(a) Protection of the de-facto refugees (de-facto because in India refugee is an administrative rather than legal category)(b) Protection of national security by regulating immigration in IndiaThese objectives have been vetted by the Supreme Court itself. The court has considered refugee influx as external aggression under Article 355 (Sarbananda Sonowal (2005) 5SCC 655).It was the Supreme Court which took the initiative on the NRC in Assam. (Assam Public Works v Union of India 2009).At the same time, it has been proactive in protecting the rights of the de-facto refugees from Bangladesh (National Human Rights Commission v. State of Arunachal Pradesh (1996).As for the Ahmediyas and Rohingyas, nothing prevents them from seeking Indian citizenship through naturalization (if they enter with valid travel documents).In any case, since India follows the principle of non-refoulment (even without acceding to the Refugee Convention 1951), they would not be pushed back.Constitutional Aspects of CAAIs it against the Secular India ?Secularism is a Constitutional value diffused throughout Part-III. The relevant Articles could be Article 14 (Equality before law), Article 21 (right to life and liberty), Article 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth), Article 16 (Equality of opportunity in public employment), Article 25 (freedom of conscience), Article 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs), Article 27 (prohibition on religion specific tax), Article 28 (protection of minority script and culture) and finally Article 30 (rights of minorities to administer educational institutions).Unfortunately, except for Articles 14 and 21, all these Articles apply to “citizens”, and thus the secularism of the Constitution seems to be a directed exclusively towards citizens and not foreigners yet to acquire citizenship.The liberal opponents are aware of this lacunae in their argument and so, their last resort is a technical reading of Article 14.Article 14 - The State shall not deny to any person equality* before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.Right to equality is a restriction on the powers of state. It defines the boundaries within which state action has to be confined. However, the restriction under Article 14 has an exception: unequal treatment to unequal persons.*equality - subject to reasonable classification.Eg: The President and common man have different powers. This is not a violation of equality because the President requires extra powers to fulfill the office's duties and to enjoy its benefits.Eg: SC/ST and other castes have different reservations. This is not a violation of equality because SC/ST require extra reservations to correct historical wrongs and to uplift.Basically, 'Equal' does not mean 'Same'.The Constitution, acknowledging that inequalities exist in society and providing equal treatment to unequal persons lead to injustice, permits a state action which is discriminatory provided that such differentiation is based on an ‘intelligible differentia’ and such differentiation has a reasonable nexus with the objective sought to be achieved by the state action.The term intelligible differentia distinguishes, reasonably, between persons or things that are grouped together from those that are left out of the group (see DS Nakara & Ors v. Union of India 1983 AIR 130).Moreover, such differentiation must have a nexus with the objective sought to be achieved by the state action meaning that there must be an objective of a state action and the differentiation must be necessary to achieve that objective (Shri Ram Krishna Dalmia v. Shri Justice S.R. Tendolkar & Ors. 1958 AIR 538).The new legislation has to pass the twin test of intelligible differentia and reasonable nexus in order to survive the test of Article 14.It is argued that CAA is under-inclusive.This is because if the purpose of classification is “religious persecution” then it fails to bring Muslim communities like Rohingyas in Bangladesh and Ahmadiyyas in Pakistan within its ambit.This is a rhetorically impressive argument. It also allows liberals to “virtue signal” their concerns for Indian Muslims (who are paradoxically not touched by the CAA at all).However, is it legally tenable?Sovereign spaceTo begin with, the justifiability of citizenship or laws that regulate the ingress of foreigners is often treated as a ‘sovereign space’ where the courts are reluctant to intervene.Thus, in Trump v Hawaii No. 17-965, 585 U.S. (2018), the US Supreme Court upheld travel ban from several Muslim countries holding that regulation of foreigners including ingress is “fundamental sovereign attribute exercised by the government’s political departments largely immune from judicial control.”Indian courts have generally followed a similar reasoning. In David John Hopkins vs. Union of India (1997), the Madras High Court held that the right of the Union to refuse citizenship is absolute and not fettered by equal protection under Article 14.Similarly, in Louis De Raedt vs. Union of India (1991), the Supreme Court held that a right of a foreigner in India is confined to Article 21 and he cannot seek citizenship as a matter of right.Even if the court enters into a review of the CAB 2019 on merits, the State can easily satisfy the technical test for reasonable classification.Intelligible DifferentiaThe amendment makes differentiation between two groups: one consisting of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian community and the other, Muslim.The language of the proviso makes reasonable distinction between the two groups in a particular context which is discernible from the phrase “from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan”. The amendment is restricted in terms of only three countries where Islam is the official state religion and the said communities form minority groups in those countries.The differentiation in the proviso is, thus, based on the fact that it separates the minorities from the majority of these three countries. The minority communities in these countries have fear of persecution on the basis of religion and the differentiation becomes reasonable on humanitarian grounds.To get the “intelligible” differentia, we have to go back in time to partition.The partition of Bengal and Punjab have been diametrically opposite historical experiences. • In Punjab, partition was a jhatka — mass slaughter followed by population exchange. By 1949, the relative demographics of the communities have stabilised. Articles 5 to 10 of the Constitution more or less settled the question of citizenship in the west.• In Bengal, it was a “halal” — slow destruction of the Bengali Hindus in Bangladesh over a period of 70 years. The Hindu population in Bangladesh fell from 23 per cent in 1947 to about 9 per cent in 2011. Since the early 1980s, the eastern border also saw the proliferation of Muslim migrants. This migration created justified demographic anxieties in Assam and the North East, resulting in protracted insurgencies.India has traditionally not been able to address this. In 1950, the Nehru-Liaquat Ali Treaty was entered into to ‘ensure to the minorities throughout its territory complete equality..’ which included ‘freedom of movement’.Nehru-Liaquat Ali TreatyIt failed miserably. Thereafter, India maintained a policy of granting citizenship under registration under section 5(1) of the Act.This was discontinued after the Bangladesh war through an executive order dated 29 November 1971, whereby the Government of India through its Under Secretary C.L. Goyal issued an express letter No. 26011/16/71-10 to the Chief Secretaries to all state governments and Union Territory Administrations.The order reads:'Grant of Indian citizenship to refugees from East Bengal who have crossed over to India after 25 March 1971 — instructing not to register the refugees from East Pakistan as Citizens'.This policy was solidified by the amendment of the Citizenship Act in 2004 that now requires a person not to be an “illegal immigrant” (i.e. someone who has entered India without valid papers) to be registered as citizens.Thus, a vast number of Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh live and work in India and own properties and documents but have no locus standi for citizenship.Now, the ‘liberals’ sought to bring a sense of ‘equivalence’ between the two communities by arguing that migration is largely driven by ‘climate vulnerabilities, economic opportunities, community networks etc.’While these could indeed be ancillary reasons for migration, the prosecution of the Hindus and Buddhists in Bangladesh is a well-established fact.This is acknowledged internationally, being part of the records of the United National High Commission for Refugees, Report of the US Commission on Religious Freedom and various international organisations.The Muslim immigrants, all said and done, do not suffer from religious persecution.The court can simply take judicial notice of it under section 57 of the Indian Evidence Act (IEA) thereby establishing the “intelligible differentia”.The law, by taking note of the fact, has eliminated the need for every migrant to prove the fact of “persecution”.Reasonable NexusThe statement of object and reasons of the amendment states that Islam being the state religion of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, minority communities have faced persecutions there and many such persons have fled to India to seek shelter and have continued to stay in India.The amendment seeks to provide protection to such individuals as many of them have incomplete or no document and are ineligible to apply for Indian citizenship under sections 5 or 6 of the Citizenship Act.The protection is simply a relaxation provided to the persons belonging to specified groups who form minority communities in these countries and expedites the process of acquiring citizenship for them.The amendment does not prohibit persons belonging to Muslim community from applying for citizenship of India. It does not ‘freshly’ declare foreign Muslims as illegal migrants. The position of foreign Muslims remains unchanged by the amended Act and only a relaxation to foreign persons belonging to minority communities of specific three countries has been provided based on a reasonable objective.The debate surrounding the amendment also raises questions on inclusion of minorities from only three countries where Hindus are a minority. Other questions revolve around ignorance of the government to the fact that even certain groups within the Muslim community face persecution in these three countries.However, the answers to such questions fall under the sphere of policy decision and are not the subject of Article 14 of the Constitution. So far as the constitutionality of the Amendment is concerned, it, in my opinion, passes the twin test laid down in Article 14.Minorities (Hindu/Buddhist/Sikh/Parsi/Christian) and Muslims have different citizenship requirements. This is not a violation of equality because religiously persecuted minorities require faster citizenship to raise their standard of living which was denied in those 3 countries.Minorities, however, still have to satisfy the Third Schedule of the Citizenship Act 1955 to acquire citizenship.Let’s not forget that while the bill overlooks Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh it also leaves out Hindus: Tamils in Sri Lanka and Hindu Rohingyas (a minority within a minority) in Myanmar. This suggests that the Citizenship Amendment Bill is about securing human rights and not persecuting a religion.The precedent was well established by Indira Gandhi’s regime when it denied full citizenship rights to Pakistani Hindu refugees but positively discriminated in favour of refugees from Bangladesh and those cast out by Idi Amin’s Uganda in 1972.Do the minorities face discrimination in these countries?In practice, non-Muslim minorities do face discrimination and persecution.What are Pakistan's blasphemy laws?Human rights group Amnesty International has pointed to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which it says "are vaguely formulated and arbitrarily enforced by the police and judiciary in a way which amounts to harassment and persecution of religious minorities".Pakistani Hindus who moved to India in recent years told the BBC they face social and religious discrimination, with a particular issue being the targeting of Hindu girls in Sindh province.In Bangladesh, there are various reasons for the decline in the proportion of Hindus over the years. The better-off Hindu population have had their homes and businesses targeted, sometimes in attempts to get them to leave so their land or assets can be taken over. Hindus have also been the targets of attacks by religious militants.In Pakistan, 14 year old Christian student was kidnapped and enforcedly converted her to Islam and marriage with Muslim cabby. The horrific incident of burning home of Christian family in Kasur district of Punjab is an eye opening for human right defenders on situation of Christians in Pakistan[1][1][1][1] .The international media reports that 629 Pakistani women were wrongfully married by Chinese men taken to China where they were kept in brothels and abused. In some cases when Chinese men took these brides to Islamabad, they were sexually attacked by many other Chinese allowed by their husbands on which these brides refused to migrate to China and returned back to their parents.The marriages of Chinese men surfaced in early 2018, when some Pastors of House Churches were approached by these alleged criminal human traffickers from China declaring themselves as Christians and expressed intentions to marry Christian girls from poor families with monetary help and a lucrative life in China.Its also reported that among 629 Pakistani women are 80% Christian and other Muslims which shows the reach of these Chinese human trafficker gangs and their support in Pakistan[2][2][2][2] .The Pakistani Christians witness rising abduction of Christian women and forcibly converting them to Islam , Gang rape of Christian women, murder of innocent Christians on petty issues and dispute covering under blasphemy laws, increasing unemployment of Christian youth in government and semi-government institutions and due share in resources of federation[3][3][3][3].The only promising action was seen, the release of blasphemy accused Christian woman Asia Bibi was facing death sentence but again she was taken in protective custody by secret service agencies of Pakistan and moved to undisclosed location from release of jail where she was not even allowed to attend Christmas services; which disappointed all who expected freedom for Asia Bibi.[4][4][4][4]read more :US, UK, Canada slam China, Pakistan for persecuting minorities. [5][5][5][5]Pakistan’s religious minorities continue to suffer [6][6][6][6]Religious persecution remains a silent feature of Pakistan[7][7][7][7]Girls from religious minorities are under constant threat of forced marriage and conversion [8][8][8][8]Why are Pakistan's Christians targeted?[9][9][9][9][10][10][10][10]CAA + NRC (in all states)Do Indian Muslims need to worry about CAA + NRC?No Indian citizen of any religion needs to worry either about CAA or NRC.Will people be excluded in NRC on religious grounds?No. NRC is not about religion. NRC, as and when conducted, shall not be on religious grounds.How is citizenship decided? Will it be in the hands of government?The citizenship will be decided as per The Citizenship Rules, 2009 as framed under The Citizenship Act, 1955. They are in public domain. There are five ways in which a person can become an Indian citizen:I. Citizenship by birth,II. Citizenship by descent,III. Citizenship by registration,IV. Citizenship by naturalization,V. Citizenship by incorporation of territoryWhen NRC comes, will I have to provide details of birth of parents etc. to prove my Indian citizenship?Details of your birth like date/month and year and place of birth are enough. If not available, you may have to provide such details of birth of parents, but no documents will be required to be compulsorily submitted w.r.t parents. The citizenship can be proved by submitting any documents relating to date and place of birth. The details of such admissible documents are yet to be decided. But they are likely to include voter card, passport, Aadhaar, license, insurance papers, birth certificate, school leaving certificate, land or house papers or such other documents issued by public authorities. The list of these documents is likely to be fairly long so that no Indian citizen is put to any undue harassment.When NRC comes, do I have to prove ancestry dating back before 1971?No. You don’t have to prove any ancestry by presenting any document like ID cards or birth certificates of parents/ ancestors dating back to before 1971. That was valid only for the Assam NRC and mandated by the Assam Accord and implemented on the directions of Supreme Court. NRC procedure in the rest of the country is entirely different as provided under The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.What if a person is illiterate and does not have relevant documents?In this case, authorities will allow him to bring witnesses, various other proofs/community verification etc. A due procedure will be followed. No Indian citizen will be put to undue trouble.Does NRC exclude anyone for being transgender, atheist, Adivasi, Dalit, women and landless without documents?No. NRC, as and when carried out, shall not affect any of the mentioned above.I see CAA as an Act, as an evolution of Indian citizenship jurisprudence over a period of time rather than a sudden sharp move by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The law is constitutionally sound and historically prudent but that’s said I strongly believe that including Ahmadiyyas community also under the category of the religious minority will only justify the purpose of this amendment as Ahmadiyyas are not considered as muslims in Pakistan and also faces religious persecution.See also:CAB: CPIM wanted citizenship rights for Bengali Hindus in 2012When former PM Manmohan Singh supported Indian citizenship for neighbouring minorities | India News - Times of IndiaBIBLIOGRAPHYNational Register of Citizens - WikipediaWhat is (CAA) Citizenship Amendment Bill and why it has triggered protests | India News - Times of IndiaCitizenship Amendment Act 2019: All you need to knowCitizenship Amendment Bill: A humanitarian act A Constitutional Defence Of The Citizenship Amendment BillCAB in simple wordsNational Register of Citizenship (NRC): All You need to knowFrom 1947 to 2019: NRC timeline shows milestones in Assam’s history FAQ: All you need to know about the CAA and its link with the NRC | Citizen MattersFootnotes[1] Present situation of Christian in Pakistan is worsening. By Nazir Bhatti[1] Present situation of Christian in Pakistan is worsening. By Nazir Bhatti[1] Present situation of Christian in Pakistan is worsening. By Nazir Bhatti[1] Present situation of Christian in Pakistan is worsening. By Nazir Bhatti[2] Imran Khan government protecting Chinese criminal involved in human trafficking of Christian brides. By Nazir S Bhatti[2] Imran Khan government protecting Chinese criminal involved in human trafficking of Christian brides. By Nazir S Bhatti[2] Imran Khan government protecting Chinese criminal involved in human trafficking of Christian brides. By Nazir S Bhatti[2] Imran Khan government protecting Chinese criminal involved in human trafficking of Christian brides. By Nazir S Bhatti[3] Pakistani Christians faced worst religious freedom issues in year 2018. By Nazir S Bhatti[3] Pakistani Christians faced worst religious freedom issues in year 2018. By Nazir S Bhatti[3] Pakistani Christians faced worst religious freedom issues in year 2018. By Nazir S Bhatti[3] Pakistani Christians faced worst religious freedom issues in year 2018. By Nazir S Bhatti[4] Where is Asia Bibi? A mystery surrounds about her whereabouts. By Dr. Nazir Bhatti[4] Where is Asia Bibi? A mystery surrounds about her whereabouts. By Dr. Nazir Bhatti[4] Where is Asia Bibi? A mystery surrounds about her whereabouts. By Dr. Nazir Bhatti[4] Where is Asia Bibi? A mystery surrounds about her whereabouts. By Dr. Nazir Bhatti[5] US, UK, Canada slam China, Pakistan for persecuting minorities[5] US, UK, Canada slam China, Pakistan for persecuting minorities[5] US, UK, Canada slam China, Pakistan for persecuting minorities[5] US, UK, Canada slam China, Pakistan for persecuting minorities[6] Asia Times | Pakistan’s religious minorities continue to suffer | Opinion[6] Asia Times | Pakistan’s religious minorities continue to suffer | Opinion[6] Asia Times | Pakistan’s religious minorities continue to suffer | Opinion[6] Asia Times | Pakistan’s religious minorities continue to suffer | Opinion[7] Religious persecution remains a silent feature of Pakistan: Rights activist[7] Religious persecution remains a silent feature of Pakistan: Rights activist[7] Religious persecution remains a silent feature of Pakistan: Rights activist[7] Religious persecution remains a silent feature of Pakistan: Rights activist[8] Pakistan’s persecuted minorities[8] Pakistan’s persecuted minorities[8] Pakistan’s persecuted minorities[8] Pakistan’s persecuted minorities[9] Why are Pakistan's Christians targeted?[9] Why are Pakistan's Christians targeted?[9] Why are Pakistan's Christians targeted?[9] Why are Pakistan's Christians targeted?[10] Pakistan Christians still persecuted[10] Pakistan Christians still persecuted[10] Pakistan Christians still persecuted[10] Pakistan Christians still persecuted

As some have boldly suggested filing paperwork and getting lawyer is what it’s going to take… I don’t think the person has a slightest idea of the topic or danger you expose yourself to divorcing a borderline wife. I have and do, it had now go on 3 years, and is yet to be over and can cost me years in state prison, to continue not see my son and likely future legal, emotional, financial life changing problems. As for a lawyer…. I’m trying to count how many it took so far, seven I think. To loose everything I’ve had, custody of my toder son, house, car, well paying job and ability to be employed, physical/emotional health, freedom, total financial loss… somewhere between 150,000–200,000 $What did I gain?- A sense of paranoia that at any time a swat team maybe coming through my front door. The same thing but in a form of an ambush when I come to court.-A habit to keep all my pockets empty except a small amount of cash(under 100) when I’m out and about, no phone, IDs, wallet.-I learned to rely less on my phone. Having tried different things, multiple phones, changing numbers, updating SIM cards often , updating devices often. Having been hacked now more than once and having my borderLine release my own text msgs with my then girlfriend to me as part of pretrial discovery…. I just assume that everything I do digitally is no longer private. If my phone is near me than I assume I’m carrying a microphone and two cameras that could be recording as well as giving up my GPS position.-I tend to try and keep my affairs in order close to the point that things could be taken care for me by someone else. Meaning, passwords, keys, bank accounts, storage units, cars, pets, lawyers- can all be easily accessed and managed by someone else who has a basic idea of what I want done in my absence or who I trust to make descisions in my absence. Everything always planned with assumptions that it might be put on hold for 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years…. and how it will be resolved.-I gained a felony criminal record and although I have not been convicted of anything yet no employer will touch me with a ten foot pole when my list of pending criminal indictments comes up. Which have been there now for 2 years and are not likely to be dropped any time soon.-I have gained some terrifying insight into US justice, law enforcement, prison system. It’s scary enough that having lived in US most of my adult life, serving in military, at one time working for US government, considering myself a patriot… I am very serious about immigrating out of US. I simply do not feel safe, the system can be used and manipulated ruthlessly to destroy anyone, for most part no one cares if you are innocent or guilty. It sounds shitty but really is the case at east in some parts of the country. When it comes to being investigated, arrested, convicted and incarcerated no one will be interested in evedence that may vindicate you of all charges only the stuff that supports the case against you. The process has almost nothing to do with committing an actual crime. Its just as fucked up as it sounds and It’s scary as hell how easy it is to become part of these systems and how little you can do to stop your introduction to these fine institutions once they have a bed reserved for you.-Finaly Ive Gained a few very good reliable friends that I trust with my future… despite some of them bitching that I don’t trust them and always sketchy about what my plans are.So what does it take? Being prepared to loose everything, it’s very hard to defend against a cunning female borderline as a divorcing husband. There are some things you can do to prevent some damages or to stop the assault on everything you hold dear… but I recommend planing mentally for worse case scenario “complete loss of everything including freedom, your good name ,reputation, custody of children”Takes years of work and struggling through some difficult moments and a lot personal fortitude is required as is patience.Set long term goals, do not set your mind on “this thing that might turn everything around 2 months from now” - it won’t. Have a 3 -5 year plan.Research the shit of the local criminal laws, specifically stalking, aggravated assault, verbal assault, harassment, sexual assault, and anything else related to that. Pay attention to ambiguity of some of these laws and sentences attached. To give a quick example, in Texas you can face up to a 20 year sentence for annoying or embarrassing someone. In reality the state will likely go for 5–10 penalty but you get the idea.Educate yourself to the specifics of the police department situated in your area. Look up what people are posting in their experiences with dealing with local law enforcement. As a potential frequent customer you may want to know what to expect before say a Swat team comes to join you for breakfast or a local street cop knocks on the door investigating an anonymous report of child obuse/drug manufacturing/someone matching your discription running around naked waving a gun in a street(no, not a joke)The best one yet “police arriving to the crime scene too early, as the reported crime have not happened yet” that’s when she reports an assault before she stages it hoping that cops arrive just as she drops to the floor screening and crying or runs off into the street screening for help accusing you of anything from assault to attempted rape as you go “what the fuck?!?” And the cops she previously called just arrive to fuck your world up.Let’s hope you are fortunate enough for it to go down the funny way where they come before she shows up and not the later.The way procedures are followed by your local police and how investigations are handled in your state is also important. Do they rubber stamp any and all female allegations of violence or do they actually verify basic facts like your address and name before issuing a warrant for your arrest. What are the bail amounts in your state for these crimes? Jumps in amounts are dramatic, in the state I lived at the time being arrested based on accusation of hitting her in the face was 500$. However if you gone as far as annoy her …. You are in trouble as it could be as high as 125,000$ bond to be released before your trial is set. Which is important because it could easily take 3+ years for the state to prepare to go to trial. You would think that there is a positive side to this, if you are sitting in jail than at least she won’t be able to cook up more charges…Yeahhhhhh that’s not how it works, she can accuse you of whatever the hell she wants. You already sitting in jail just saves time of going to pick you up and drive you there again.Word of advice, find a bail bondsman that will not drop your previously purchased bonds because a new criminal charge has been filed against you. Many of them will do exactly that. Putting you in a position of having to purchase the same bonds for all previous crimes you may already have posted and are in the system.It’s not a major issue at 500$ level but it can be when you have to repost a bond you have already paid 6500$ for in addition to a new 15,000$ one.Research what resources are available to battered and abused women in your area(it’s not for you, it’s what your borderline will be using to streamline the process of reporting crimes against you). Research how to talk to police, what your rights are and what if anything you should say or do when they are standing at your front door or knocking it down.Look up lawfirms that maybe specializing in borderline divorce. I’m not kidding it’s a real thing and they exist. If you have ability to pay whatever ridicules amount they may set… pay it. I’ve never gone that attempted that but I can tell you that regular divorce attorney will not do much for you in a face of your borderline, your divorce will be settled with you being homeless or in jail. Chances are you won’t be in a courtroom by then. With a specialized atterney you may find yourself better equipped to deal with a nightmare that’s going to come at you primarily outside the courthouse.If you do your research what I am saying will start to echo through a lot of what you’ll incounter and might make more sense then in context of what other men have to share having gone through this jolly ride.Lastly inform as many people about what is happening, put cameras everywhere you spend time. Work, home, car recording you at all times having it there may dissuade your borderline from staging things or it may later provide aliby or other evidence for you.Finaly, when fun times start, surround yourself with as many people as you can. Do not hide and cover your head. Be vocal, report, share, record anything that is happening. Police will ignore you, keep on trying. Later they will ask you suspiciously “well if this was going on how come you haven’t resported it?” They’ll ask you that regardless if you have or haven’t, but at least you’ll have a paper trail if it ever comes to the point where you are responding with your own charges or suing you local police, city, county.Always keep a witness around when you maybe dealing with your boarder line. The second she knows you are leaving her reduce contact to absolute minimum. Preferably non at all. No texts, no calls, no talking to her friends, family members, or being anywhere she maybe(work, home) contact only through a lawyer. She will do all that and a lot more without a pause and will get away with vandalism, breaking and entering and all other things and it’s normal….you however will need to be very very careful to minimize amount of evidence she will have and force her into fabrication of it as much as possible. Fabricated Evidence is what you want at your trial, not circumstancial ones.Once it began, Never forget she is a Borderline that you have now abandoned. There is no going back or improving things you may as well have killed all she ever cared about and have done the most heinous thing to her. She will never forgive this and she will have nothing but rage and vengeance towards you. Don’t let your guard down no matter what. If she is sharking and keeps trying different approaches to gain access to you than she is looking to move in for a kill blow. That’s all she will be after above all else.Good luck.

Trump’s successes are listed and circulated on the Internet as they are not popular in the MSM. They don’t indicate any flaws in the Trump diamond, so they are not “newsworthy” for the MSM.One such list is:Trump’s accomplishmentsAccomplishments in 355 Days.” This list will be handy for the historical record and as we help elect Donald Trump to the Presidency in 2020. — Donna Garner]==============JANUARY 2018Jobs: Americans’ optimism about finding a quality job averaged 56 percent in 2017, the highest annual average in 17 years of Gallup polling and a sharp increase from 42 percent in 2016. At the same time, the U.S. unemployment rate fell from an average 4.9 percent in 2016 to 4.4 percent in 2017, the lowest rate since 2000.Small businesses: Small-business confidence hit a record high in 2017, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Its Small Business Optimism Index was an average of 104.8 in 2017, the highest in the history of the the survey. Juanita Duggan, the president and CEO of the NFIB, cited the optimism on policy changes from Washington under President Trump as the reason for the increase in confidence.Jobs: The unemployment rate for black Americans dropped to an all-time low in December, to 6.8 percent. The previously monthly low was 7.4 percent in 2000. The government has been tracking unemployment by race since 1972. The overall unemployment rate is just 4.1 percent.Stocks: The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded above 25,000 points for the first time Jan. 4, just five weeks after closing above 24,000 points for the first time.DECEMBER 2017Counter-terrorism: The Trump administration announced Dec. 29 that the United States will deny Pakistan military aid amounting to $255 million. A spokesman for the National Security Council explained that President Trump “has made clear that the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil” and that Islamabad’s support for the U.S. security strategy for South Asia “will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including future security assistance.”EPA reform: More than 700 people have left the Environmental Protection Agency since Trump took office, nearly a quarter of the way toward its goal of shrinking the agency to Reagan-administration levels.United Nations: The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, announced days after the U.N. General Assembly condemned the U.S. for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital that Washington negotiated a $285 million cut in the global body’s “bloated” budget for next year. Prior to the Dec. 21 U.N. vote, Haley warned that the U.S. “will remember this day” when “once again, we are called up to make the world’s largest contribution to the U.N., and we will remember it when many countries come calling on us to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit.”Human rights: President Trump on Dec. 21 signed an executive order cracking down on individuals and groups that his administration deems to be perpetrators or enablers of human rights abuses and corruption. The order declared a national emergency related to “serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world” and imposed sanctions on 13 individuals. Trump was exercising his authority under the 2016 Global Magnitsky Act.Tax reform: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised President Trump Dec. 20 for his leadership in the passage of the biggest tax overhaul in 30 years, with some $3.2 trillion in tax cuts along with significant simplification of the tax code.Regulatory reform: The Trump administration eliminated Obama-era rules requiring that organic poultry have enough room to run around and that organic livestock have year-round access to an outdoor space and comfortable indoor pens. Trump’s Department of Agriculture argued the rules would “hamper market-driven innovation and evolution and impose unnecessary regulatory burdens.”Climate: President Trump on Dec. 18 removed climate change from the global threats listed in his National Security Strategy, reversing an Obama administration decision. Obama, in the most recent strategy document, declared climate change an “urgent and growing threat to our national security.”ISIS: Three years ago, ISIS had made substantial progress achieving its stated goal of a caliphate, boasting tens of thousands of fighters and territorial control over an area roughly the size of South Korea. But now, under President Trump’s leadership of U.S. Armed Forces, ISIS has collapsed in its Syria stronghold and in Iraq. As Northeastern Professor Max Abrahms and CATO Institute Director John Glaser note in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, a former foreign fighter recently admitted, “It’s over: there is no more Daesh left,” using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.Regulatory reform: President Trump announced Dec. 14 his administration has far exceeded its promise to eliminate regulations at a 2:1 ratio and impose no lifetime net regulatory costs. In total, agencies issued 67 deregulatory actions while imposing only three new regulatory actions, a ratio of 22:1. Federal agencies also achieved $8.1 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings, the equivalent of $570 million per year.Jobs: Some 228,000 new jobs were created in November, highlighting the strongest U.S. labor market since the turn of the century. The government also reported Dec. 8 that unemployment was unchanged at 4.1 percent, but that’s still nearly a 17-year low.Military: The Trump administration asked a federal court Dec. 7 for an emergency stay to delay a court order to begin opening the military to transgender recruits by Jan. 1.Israel: While the previous three U.S. presidents promised during their election campaigns to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Trump on Dec. 6 became the first to follow through. In his official order, Trump also ordered the U.S. Embassy to be moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded: “President Donald Trump, thank you for today’s historic decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Jewish people and the Jewish state will be forever grateful.”Immigration: The Department of Homeland Security released figures Dec. 4 showing Trump is delivering on his pledge to more strictly control immigration and deter would-be border-crossers. Border Patrol arrests dropped to a 45-year low in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, down 25 percent from a year earlier. ICE said the number of people apprehended away from the border jumped 25 percent this fiscal year. The increase is 37 percent after Trump’s inauguration compared to the same period the year before.States’ rights: President Trump signed two executive orders Dec. 4 that gave back about 2 million acres of land to the state of Utah by modifying executive orders by President Obama. Arguing the Antiquities Act “requires that any reservation of land as part of a monument be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects of historic or scientific interest to be protected,” Trump reduced the federal government’s control of the Bear’s Ear National Monument to just 201,876 acres, pointing out that the important objects of scientific or historic interest described described in Obama’s proclamation are protected under existing laws and agency management designations. He also reduced the Grand Staircase National Monument in Utah from nearly 1.9 million acres to about 1 million.Immigration: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced Dec. 3 the Trump administration is withdrawing from the Global Compact on Migration, arguing the pact would “undermine the sovereign right of the United States to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders.” Tillerson made the announcement just before the opening of a global conference on migration in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.Tax reform: Propelled by the engagement of President Trump, the Senate on Dec. 1 passed the biggest rewrite of the nation’s tax system since 1986, reducing rates for businesses and individuals. The Republican-led House passed a similar bill in November. The two chambers of Congress will negotiate a reconciliation of the two bills that they expect to put on the president’s desk before the end of the year.Health care: The Senate tax-reform bill passed Dec. 1 eliminates Obamacare’s individual mandate, the linchpin of Obama’s government-controlled health-care system, which penalizes taxpayers for choosing not to buy health insurance.NOVEMBER 2017Stocks: The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 331 points Nov. 30 to close above 24,000 for the first time in history. Stocks were buoyed by the possibility of the Senate passing the Republican tax-reform bill championed by President Trump.Mining: Mining increased 28.6 percent in the second quarter and was the leading contributor to growth for the nation and in the three fastest-growing states of North Dakota, Wyoming and Texas, according to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.North Korea: In response to North Korea’s buildup of nuclear weapons and missiles, the communist nation was officially designated a state sponsor of terror by the Trump administration on Nov. 20. The Treasury Department followed up with sanctions on organizations and companies doing business with North Korea.Regulation reform: Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Nov. 17 the Department of Justice will cease the practice initiated by President Obama of issuing “guidance memos” to enact new regulations that sometimes have had the effect of changing federal laws.Iran: Trump issued a memorandum Nov. 16 determining that the U.S. has enough petroleum coming from countries other than Iran to permit “a significant reduction in the volume of petroleum and petroleum products” purchased from the mullah-led nation.China trade: During President Trump’s visit to China in November, trade and investment deals worth more than $250 billion were announced that are expected to create jobs for American workers, farmers and ranchers by increasing U.S. exports to China and stimulating investment in American communities.Government transparency: The federal government on Nov. 9 made public more than 13,000 additional documents from its files on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, under orders from President Trump. It was the fourth released since October, when the president allowed the immediate release of 2,800 records by the National Archives.International liberty: President Trump proclaimed Nov. 7, the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, as the National Day for the Victims of CommunismReligious liberty: The Department of Agriculture issued a guidance Nov. 6 that ensures Christians who opposed same-sex marriage would not be discriminated against for their beliefs.Job growth: President Trump announced in the Oval Office Nov. 2 that the semiconductor manufacturing company Broadcom Limited is moving its headquarters from Singapore to the United States. Broadcom is a Fortune 100 company that already employs more than 7,500 workers in the United States, and that number is expected to grow exponentially, with an estimated $20 billion to be spent on employees annually. Broadcom CEO Hock E. Tan said the decision to relocate Broadcom was driven by “his desire to give back to this country that has given me so much.”Government reform: EPA Director Scott Pruitt placed 66 new experts on three different EPA scientific committees who espouse more conservative views than their predecessors. To prevent conflicts of interest, Pruitt signed a directive Oct. 31 banning scientists who receive EPA grants from serving on the agency’s independent advisory boards.OCTOBER 2017Job growth:The White House announced Oct. 25 a new drone Integration Pilot Program that will accelerate drone integration into the national airspace system. Under the program, the Department of Transportation will enter into agreements with state, local, and tribal governments to establish innovation zones for testing complex UAS operations and to attempt different models for integrating drones into local airspace. Calling drones “a critical, fast-growing part of American aviation, increasing efficiency, productivity, and jobs, the White House said they “present opportunities to enhance the safety of the American public, increase the efficiency and productivity of American industry, and create tens of thousands of new American jobs.”Government reform:Melania Trump, while embracing a more active and public schedule as first lady, is running one of the leanest East Wing operations in recent history, according to a Fox News analysis of White House personnel reports that found she has significantly reduced the number of aides on the first lady’s office payroll in comparison to her predecessor, Michelle Obama. During President Obama’s first year in office, 16 people were listed working for Michelle Obama, earning a combined $1.24 million a year. This year, just four people were listed working for Melania Trump as of June, with salaries totaling $486,700.Obamacare: Trump signed an executive order Oct. 12 that directs three federal agencies to rewrite regulations to encourage the establishment of cheaper health plans that can be purchased across state lines and are not bound by certain Obamacare rules and regulations. The directive would allow small-business owners, trade groups and others to join together to purchase health insurance. The plans would not be required to include benefits such as prescription drugs. Trump also wants to expand the sale of stopgap policies that don’t cover pre-existing conditions, mental health services and other costly benefits.Consumer optimism: U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly surged to a 13-year high as Americans’ perceptions of the economy and their own finances rebounded following several major hurricanes, a University of Michigan survey showed Oct. 13.Iran nuclear agreement: President Trump announced Oct. 13 he will not certify the Iran nuclear deal and vowed that the U.S. would pull out unless changes are made. He also unveiled a new strategy, the culmination of nine months of deliberation with Congress and allies, on how to best protect American security from the rogue mullah-led regime. The plan includes denying the regime funding and any paths to a nuclear weapon and ballistic missiles. The Department of the Treasury sanctioned more than 25 entities and individuals involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program. The U.S. also sanctioned 16 entities and individuals that have supported Iran’s military and Revolutionary Guard Corps in the development of drones, fast attack boats and other military equipment.United Nations: The United States is quitting the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.Heather Nauert, a State Department spokeswoman, announced the move will be made before the end of the year “This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects U.S. concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO.”Homeland security: The Supreme Court dismissed a major challenge to President Trump’s travel ban on majority-Muslim countries Oct. 10 because it has been replaced by a new version, sending the controversy back to the starting block. The ruling is a victory for the Trump administration, which had asked the court to drop the case after Trump signed a proclamation Sept. 24 that replaced the temporary travel ban on six nations with a new, indefinite ban affecting eight countries. That action made the court challenge moot, the justices ruled.EPA reform: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Oct. 9 a new set of rules that will override the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s drive to curb global climate change. The agency is moving to undo, delay or block more than 30 environmental rules, the largest regulatory rollback in the agency’s 47-year history.Immigration: The Trump administration submitted to Congress Oct. 8 a 70-point proposal that calls for increased border security, interior enforcement of immigration laws and a merit-based immigration system. It includes funding and completing construction of a southern border wall, improving expedited removal of illegal aliens, protecting innocent people in “sanctuary cities,” ending extended-family chain migration and establishing a point-based system for green cards to protect U.S. workers and taxpayers.Religious liberty: Attorney General Sessions on Oct. 6 issued guidance to all administrative agencies and executive departments regarding religious liberty protections in federal law in keeping with Trump’s May 4 executive order. The guidance interprets existing protections for religious liberty in federal law, identifying 20 high-level principles that administrative agencies and executive departments can put to practical use to ensure the religious freedoms of Americans are lawfully protected. Attorney General Sessions also issued a second memorandum to the Department of Justice, directing implementation of the religious liberty guidance within the department. Among the principles are “the freedom of religion extends to persons and organizations,” “Americans do not give up their freedom of religion by participating in the marketplace, partaking of the public square, or interacting with government” and government “may not restrict acts or abstentions because of the beliefs they display.”Missile defense: The Department of Defense reprogrammed approximately $400 million for U.S. missile defense systems.Religious liberty: The Trump administration expanded religious and moral exemptions for mandated contraceptive coverage under Obamacare. Obama’s signature legislation required that nearly all insurance plans cover abortion-inducing drugs and contraception, forcing citizens to violate sincerely held religious or moral beliefs, pay steep fines, or forgo offering or obtaining health insurance entirely. The interim final rules note that the United States “has a long history of providing conscience protections in the regulation of health care entities and individuals with objections based on religious beliefs and moral convictions.” The rule aligns with the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling protecting the Little Sisters of the Poor, which says the government cannot fine religious groups for following their faith.Immigration: Amid strong Democratic opposition, the House Homeland Security Committee gave first approval to the broad scope of President Trump’s border wall Oct. 4, clearing a bill that would authorize $10 billion in new infrastructure spending, new waivers to speed up construction, and 10,000 more border agents and officers to patrol the U.S.-Mexico line.Space exploration: President Trump revived the National Space Council for the first time in 25 years to assist him in developing and implementing long-range strategic goals for the nation’s space policy. The pace program will refocus on human exploration and discovery. Vice President Mike Pence, who chaired the National Space Council’s Oct. 5 meeting, said the administration aims to establish a renewed American presence on the moon and from that foundation become the first nation to bring mankind to Mars. The administration also will renew America’s commitment to creating the space technology needed to protect national security. And Pence pointed out the intelligence community reports that Russia and China are pursuing a full range of anti-satellite technology designed to threaten our U.S. military effectiveness.Abortion: The Office of Management and Budget on Oct. 2 issued a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) to strongly support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), which would generally make it unlawful for any person to perform, or attempt to perform, an abortion of an unborn child after 20 weeks post-fertilization.Protecting life: The president issued a statement Oct. 1 renewing the nation’s “strong commitment to promoting the health, well-being, and inherent dignity of all children and adults with Down syndrome.” The president observed “there remain too many people – both in the United States and throughout the world – that still see Down syndrome as an excuse to ignore or discard human life.” He said Americans and their government “must always be vigilant in defending and promoting the unique and special gifts of all citizens in need” and “should not tolerate any discrimination against them, as all people have inherent dignity.”Protecting life: The Department of Health and Human Services has published a draft of a new strategic plan that states in its introduction that life begins at conception. The personhood of the unborn child is central to the abortion debate — as even the justice who wrote the landmark Roe v. Wade opinion has acknowledged — because, if established in law, it would nullify a “right” to abortion. The largely overlooked HHS strategic plan for 2018-22 states the agency “accomplishes its mission through programs and initiatives that cover a wide spectrum of activities, serving and protecting Americans at every stage of life, beginning at conception.”Tax reform:Trump is working with Congress to lower taxes by seven points for the middle class and lower business taxes to a 15 percent rate.SEPTEMBER 2017Lower courts: Trump is filling up lower courts with lifetime appointees. In the estimation of Democratic official Ron Klain, a “massive transformation is underway in how our fundamental rights are defined by the federal judiciary.” Klain, lamenting Trump’s moves, said the president “is proving wildly successful in one respect: naming youthful conservative nominees to the federal bench in record-setting numbers.” On Sept. 28, Trump announced an eighth wave of judicial candidates, with nine more names.Canada trade: In September, the Commerce Department, siding with Boeing, slapped a 219 percent tariff on the import of Canadian-made Bombardier jets, arguing they are supported by subsidies from the governments of Canada and the U.K., creating an unfair market.Korea trade: Trump began the process of renegotiating the United States-South Korea Free Trade Agreement in September.Climate: In September, Trump shut down a climate-change advisory panel under the direction of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, that critics have contended was formed largely to promote President Obama’s climate policies, arguing it lacked representation from “those who think the empirical evidence points to human actions contributing little to global warming and that attempting to reduce it would slow the conquest of poverty around the world.” The EPA also has decided not to renew the appointments of dozens of scientists on various scientific advisory panels.Economy: Household wealth reached a record high of $1.7 trillion in the second quarter due to rising property values and gains in financial assets, according to a Federal Reserve report.Homeland security: In September, Trump signed an executive order to enhance vetting capabilities and processes for detecting attempted entry into the United States by terrorists or other public-security threats.North Korea: After some 25 years of failed negotiations to contain Pyongyang’s nuclear program, the communist regime’s latest threatening actions were met by President Trump with a warning that military action, including a preemptive nuclear attack, would be considered. After Trump’s warnings, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un backed off on his threat to attack the U.S. territory of Guam.North Korea: On Sept. 7, the U.S. fully deployed the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea despite objections from Pyongyang’s chief ally, China.North Korea: In September, Trump signed an executive order significantly expanding U.S. authority to target individuals, companies and financial institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea, most of which are Chinese. Meanwhile, China’s central bank has ordered banks in its massive banking system to immediately stop doing business with North Korea.United Nations: In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump told the global body in September, “I put America first and you should do the same with your nations.” In the speech, he also explicitly denounced socialism and communism, pointing to Venezuela as an example of what happens when socialism is successfully implemented.Immigration: President Trump, in September, rescinded Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order, which gave de facto amnesty to some 800,000 people who came to the country as children with their illegal-alien parents. Trump delayed implementing his order for six months to give Congress time to come up with a legislative solution.Stock markets: Through the first week of September, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had 34 record highs. From Election Day to the Inauguration, the Dow rose more than 1,500 points. It climbed another 2,500 points from Inauguration Day, reaching more than 22,400 in mid-September, a gain of more than $4 trillion in wealth since Trump was elected. The Dow’s spike from 19,000 to above 21,000 in just 66 days was the fastest 2,000-point rise ever. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ also have set all-time highs. On Aug. 7, the Dow closed with an all-time high for the ninth day in a row, the first time the market has had a run of that length twice under one presidency.AUGUST 2017North Korea: In August, the U.S. initiated a resolution in the U.N. Security Council establishing sanctions that would cut North Korea’s export revenue by a third. Another resolution passed Sept. 11 with new sanctions.North Korea: The U.S. implemented its own sanctions in August on 16 Chinese and Russian individuals and entities for conducting business with North Korea.Business optimism: In August, the National Federation of Independent Business said its Small-Business Optimism Index reached 105.3, the highest since 2006 and an 11 percent jump since the week before Trump was elected. The Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index said small business owners are the most optimistic since July 2007. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort measure reached a 16-year high, with current views of the economy also reaching a 16-year high. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose in July to near a 16 year high, with consumers short-term outlook improving.Job growth: While the new administration certainly can’t take all of the credit – and the government itself doesn’t create jobs – employers make hiring decisions based on the long-term economic outlook, and the president has a great deal to do with that. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported nearly 1.3 million new jobs were created during Trump’s first 200 days. Meanwhile, Obama, in his first six months, saw the loss of more than 4.1 million jobs in his first 200 days. The bureau said 6,000 construction jobs were added in July for a total of 82,000 since January. In addition, 16,000 manufacturing jobs were added in July, a total of 70,000 since January. The labor-force participation rate increased to 62.9 percent in July. In June, there were 6 million job openings in the U.S., one of the highest levels recorded.S. manufacturing: During Trump’s first six months, the manufacturing index was the highest it had been since 1983 under President Reagan. The National Association of Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey showed the highest two-quarter average, of 91.4 percent, for manufacturing optimism in the survey’s 20-year history. The Institute for Supply Management reported its June barometer of manufacturing rose to 57.8, the fastest pace in three years.China trade: The president signed an order in August to investigate Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property. The IP Commission Report estimates that the annual cost to the United States economy from IP theft could be as high as $600 billion,with China as the major contributor.Infrastructure: The Trump administration aims to dramatically reduce permitting time for projects from 10 years to two years, spurring investment and job creation.Argentina trade: The U.S. struck a deal in August to export pork to Argentina that will allow U.S. pork to enter the Argentine market for the first time since 1992, a potential $10 million a year market for American producers.Trade: More than $2 billion in fines were assessed to China and Canada in August for illegal trade practices.Immigration: DHS in August ended the Central American Minors Parole Program that had allowed certain minors from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to enter the U.S.Immigration: A report in August said that due to reforms and additional hirings of immigration judges, the number of deportation orders increased by nearly 28 percent compared to the same period of time in 2016.Immigration: In August, the government also said that of the 42,000 illegal immigrants in federal prisons, nearly all of them either had deportation orders or were being investigated for possible deportation.Immigration: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in August denied requests from employers to import cheap foreign labor into the U.S. for high-skilled jobs if the employers could not explain why they wanted to pay a lower wage for such work.Military: Trump elevated the Department of Defense’s Cyber Command to the status of Unified Combatant Command in August, demonstrating an increased focus on cyber security.Military: In August, Trump directed the military not to move forward with a controversial Obama-era mandate to allow, for the first time, transgender individuals to be recruited into the armed forces.Islamic jihad: In August, Trump presented in an address to the nation a new military strategy that put Pakistan on notice for supporting jihadists and warned Kabul it would no longer receive a “blank check,” moving the U.S. away from the Bush-era policy of “nation-building” and focusing on “killing terrorists.”Veterans Administration reform: President Trump signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act in August, streamlining the lengthy process that veterans undergo when appealing disability benefits claims with the VA. More than 470,000 veterans are awaiting decisions regarding their appeals. The Veterans Affairs administration is the first agency to post information on employee disciplinary action online.Veterans Administration reform: The president signed the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act in August, which provides educational benefits to veterans, service members and their family members, including tuition, fees, books, housing and other additional costs.Government reform: The president signed an executive order in August projected to save billions of dollars by streamlining and expediting the permitting process for infrastructure projects. The order establishes a two-year goal for the federal government to process all of the actions required by federal law for the environmental reviews and permits of major infrastructure projects.Welfare reform: In August, the Department of Health and Human Services rescinded an Obama-era directive that had allowed states to request a waiver to ignore work requirements for the poor in order to receive welfare.Welfare reform: In August, more than 1.1 million fewer Americans were on food stamps under President Trump, compared to the Obama administration.Law enforcement: In August, the DOJ launched an opioid fraud and abuse unit to fight opioid prescription abuses.Second Amendment: In August, the Justice Department terminated Operation Choke Point, an Obama program encouraging banks not to do business with “high risk” businesses, which was used to target gun dealers.JULY 2017Gross Domestic Product: GDP in the second quarter of the year increased by 2.6 percent, more than doubling the first quarter performance.Unemployment: The jobless rate decreased from 4.8 percent to 4.4 percent from January through June 2017. In contrast, during the first six months of 2009, Obama’s first year in office, the rate increased from 7.8 percent to 9.5 percent.Oil drilling on federal lands: In July, Trump signed an order boosting oil and gas development on federal lands.Coal power: In July, President Trump kept his campaign promise to coal miners and rolled back the previous administration’s “Stream Protection Rule,” which targeted the industry with estimated costs of at least $81 million a year.Made in USA: Trump has convinced companies such as Ford, Chrysler and Carrier Air Conditioners to manufacture and build plants in the United States. At the White House, Corning announced with the president it was investing $500 million in new U.S. production, creating 1,000 new jobs. Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, which makes the iPhone, announced in July it was investing $10 billion in Wisconsin to build a factory that will employ 3,000 workers directly and up to 22,000 workers indirectly.Disarming jihad: In July, the Trump administration ended a CIA program to arm “moderate” Syrian rebels after previous efforts of its kind were shown to have aided Islamic jihadists, including the terrorists who carried out the disastrous Benghazi attack in which four Americans, including the ambassador, were killed.Islamic jihad: After months of heavy fighting, Iraqi coalition forces finally pushed ISIS fighters out of Mosul in early July. The U.S. is also supporting efforts to rid the Philippines of ISIS cells.Government reform: Trump created the Office of American Innovation in July to streamline and improve the government for future generations.Government reform: Trump signed an executive order in July implementing tough new lobbying standards for political appointees, including a five-year ban on lobbying and a lifetime ban on lobbying for foreign countries.Law enforcement: In July, federal gun-crime prosecutions by the DOJ in the preceding three months increased 23 percent over the same period in 2016.Law enforcement: In what Attorney General Jeff Sessions described as the “largest health-care fraud takedown operation in American history,” the DOJ in July charged more than 400 people, including doctors and medical facilities, who it said were prescribing unnecessary opioids to addicts and fueling the current drug crisis.Law enforcement: Sessions and the DOJ cracked down on illegal leaks of classified information from within the government, pursuing three times more investigations in the first six months of the Trump administration than had been open at the end of the Obama administration. The administration created a counterintelligence unit within the FBI for the investigations.JUNE 2017Oil pipelines: Trump approved the Dakota Access Pipeline project and the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, which are expected to create more than 42,000 jobs and $2 billion in earnings. The Dakota Access Pipeline, which is transporting 500,000 barrels of oil a day, has reinvigorated the North Dakota economy. In June, Trump approved production of the New Burgos Pipeline to Mexico.Inflation: The rate decreased to an eight-month low in June to 1.6 percent.China trade: For the first time since 2003, American beef imports have returned to China, opening up a $2.5 billion market to American ranchers and producers.Cuba relations: Trump in June delivered on his campaign promise to roll back the Obama administration’s agreement with Cuba, which Trump contends benefitted the Cuban regime at the expense of the Cuban people.Apprenticeships: Trump signed an executive order in June making it easier for businesses to start and expand apprenticeship programs.Property rights: Trump issued an executive order in June to begin the process of rescinding the 2015 Waters of the United States rule, which has been used to expand federal control over private land. Under the Obama administration, the broadly crafted rule was applied to “navigable waters” such as man-made ditches and water that accumulated after heavy rain.Homeland security: On June 19, DHS announced it had implemented a method of tracking whether or not visitors leave the United States. Twenty years ago, Congress ordered the installation of an entry-exit tracking system, but the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations never took action, allowing millions of people to remain on temporary visas. Approximately 416,500 people overstayed their visas in 2015 alone.Paris Climate Accord: Trump, in June, pulled the U.S. out of the global agreement, which, according to a study by NERA Consulting, could have cost the United States economy nearly $3 trillion.According to the same study, by 2040, 6.5 million industrial sector jobs could have been lost, including 3.1 million manufacturing sector jobs.NATO: Trump’s urging of NATO members to pay their fair share of financial support for the military alliance has resulted in an increasing of allied contributions of $10 billion, according to NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg.Russia: The administration in June implemented the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which blacklisted certain Russian citizens for human rights violations.Russia: In June, on the same day President Trump met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 38 Russian individuals and entities involved in the conflict with Ukraine.Immigration: ICE arrested an average of 13,085 people each month from February through June, whereas the average during the last three months of the Obama administration was 9,134 arrests per month.Immigration: Trump’s Department of Homeland Security canceled in June the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program created by the Obama administration in November 2014 that would have given amnesty to about 4 million illegal immigrants.Military: In June, the Trump administration authorized the Defense Department to set troop levels in Afghanistan. The expanded authority given to the military could also be seen in U.S. operations in Somalia.Veterans Administration reform: Trump signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act in June to allow senior officials in the VA to fire failing employees and to establish safeguards to protect whistleblowers. The department reported it had fired more than 500 employees since January 2017 and suspended nearly 200 as part of the president’s efforts to restore integrity and accountability.Veterans Administration reform: In June, the VA announced the adoption of a medical records system successfully used by the Defense Department, ending a decades-old problematic rift in sharing information between the two agencies.Veterans Administration reform: A new White House VA Hotline to help veterans, fully staffed by veterans, went live in June.Education: Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, in June appointed Adam Kissel, a noted critic of the Obama administration’s implementation of Title IX – the much-abused 1972 federal law that bars discrimination in education “on the basis of sex” – and a strong supporter of free speech, as deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs. The staff of the Title IX enforcement office was reduced in the 2018 budget.MAY 2017Middle East: Trump strengthened traditional alliances with Israel and the Arab nations, which had deteriorated badly under President Obama.Middle East: During a visit to Saudi Arabia in May, his first foreign trip as president, he announced the signing of a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, with another $350 billion of arms for the following 10 years. American and Saudi businesses signed similar agreements on the same day, with billions of dollars to be invested in the U.S. Trump also gave a major speech to leaders of 50 Islamic nations, challenging them to fight Islamic terror.Personal income: According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. personal income rose 0.4 percent in May, while a 0.3 increase was expected.Housing: The U.S. Census Bureau found housing sales recently have doubled compared to the same period under President Obama. The annualized housing sales rate for May 2017 was 610,000, compared to just 376,000 in 2009. New home prices hit a record high in May, according to the Commerce Department. In 2011, houses for sale were on the market an average 84 days. This year, it’s just 45 days.Mexico trade: Mexico agreed in June to curb its exporting of raw and refined sugar to the U.S, benefitting the American industry.Trade: Trump announced in May that he intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, to better reflect the modern economy while benefitting every party to the pact.Syria: After the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against civilians, President Trump authorized strikes in May against the airbase that launched the chemical attacks, destroying 20 percent of Syria’s operational aircraft.Immigration: In May, the administration said the number of child illegal immigrants entering the nation monthly had fallen below 1,000 for the first time in several years.Voter fraud: In May, Trump created a commission to investigate voter fraud chaired by Vice President Mike Pence and vice-chaired by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.Education: In May, the administration announced it will create a school choice plan and give states the option of implementing it, rather than making it a federal program.Religious liberty: On the annual National Day of Prayer in May, Trump signed an executive order on religious liberty that included a loosening of IRS restrictions, known as the Johnson Amendment, against political activities by tax-exempt religious organizations. The order also attempted to make it easier for employers not to provide contraceptives if they had religious objections and gave Attorney General Jeff Sessions greater authority regarding religious liberty policy.Abortion: In May, the administration broadened the scope of the Mexico City Policy to restrict funding to any international health organization that performs or gives information about abortions, expanding the amount of money affected from $600,000 to nearly $9 billion.APRIL 2017S. Supreme Court: Keeping a major campaign promise, President Trump nominated to the highest court a strict constructionist and originalist in the mold of Antonin Scalia, Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as an associate justice in April. In his first term, in June, Gorsuch voted in every case with the justice generally regarded as the most conservative, Clarence Thomas. The conservative Committee for Justice said in a report that Gorsuch’s early performance says a lot about both what he will be like as a Supreme Court justice “and what the president can be counted on to do as more high court vacancies occur. Conservatives hoping for a solid conservative majority on the court in the near future had good reason to cheer.”Immigration: The administration announced illegal border crossings had decreased by 40 percent in the first month of Trump’s presidency. By Trump’s 100th day in office, crossings had decreased by 73 percent, thanks to the president’s policies deterring people from attempting to enter the country.Offshore oil drilling: In April, Trump signed an executive order to extend offshore oil and gas drilling and reissue a leasing program to develop offshore resources. The order reversed Obama’s December ban on drilling in the Arctic and parts of the Atlantic Ocean.China trade: Trump initiated an investigation in April into whether or not Chinese and other foreign-made steel and aluminum threaten U.S. national security. China has 26 percent of the steel market in the U.S., and Chinese steel imports are up nearly 20 percent over the last year.Made in the USA: President Trump signed the “Buy American and Hire American” executive order in April, prioritizing the interests of American businesses and workers. “Buy American” protects American industry from unfair competition by targeting the abusive use of waivers and exceptions to laws on the books. Trump’s “Hire American” effort calls for the reform of visa programs, ensuring that they no longer displace American workers, while fully enforcing laws governing the entry of foreign workers.Agriculture regulations: In April, in an effort to help farmers affected by NAFTA and the trade imbalance with Canada, Trump signed an executive order ordering the Department of Agriculture to find and eliminate unnecessary regulations.G-7: In April, the administration refused to sign the G-7 joint statement because the other nations could not agree to include support for nuclear and fossil fuels without support for the Paris climate agreement. The G-7, consequently, did not issue a joint statement.Russia: In April, the administration refused to issue waivers to any companies that wanted to do business with Russia, which was under economic sanctions, including ExxonMobil, which had applied for a waiver.Immigration: In March and April, the DOJ announced plans to speed up the deportation of imprisoned illegal aliens, instructing U.S. attorneys to employ stricter guidelines in the prosecution of immigration crimes while seeking to hire 125 immigration judges in the next two years.Immigration: Trump signed an executive order in April cutting funding for sanctuary cities, and despite encountering opposition from city officials, ICE agents have been enforcing U.S. immigration laws in those cities.Immigration: In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, arrests and deportations of criminal aliens such as MS-13 members were up 38 percent compared with the last year of the Obama administration. ICE conducted a crackdown on the gangs that resulted in the arrests of nearly 1,400 people. The Trump administration also cooperated with Central American countries to combat MS-13 recruitment in the region. An estimated 6,000 MS-13 gang members were arrested during the president’s first five months.Military: In April, Trump gave Defense Secretary James Mattis authority to set troop levels in Iraq and Syria for the fight against ISIS. And military commanders were granted authority to perform military actions without approval from Washington. As a direct result, this newly autonomous U.S. military made large advances against ISIS.Islamic jihad: Under the increased autonomy Trump gave the Defense Department, the U.S. dealt a heavy blow to ISIS in Afghanistan in April, dropping a GBU-43B – known as MOAB or the “Mother Of All bombs” – the largest non-nuclear bomb in existence, on a complex of ISIS tunnels. At least 94 ISIS fighters were killed, including four commanders, and tunnels and weapon stockpiles were destroyed.Veterans Administration reform: In April, Trump signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 to authorize $2.1 billion in additional funds enabling veterans who live more than 40 miles from the closest eligible VA medical facility, experience wait times of more than 30 days to schedule an appointment, or meet other special criteria to be treated outside the VA system.Law enforcement: In April, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in an effort to give back local control to police departments, ordered the Department of Justice to review Obama’s agreements with local police departments.Education: In April, Trump signed an executive order requiring Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to review department regulations with the intent of returning power to the states and local governments.Abortion: In what was regarded as the first major national pro-life bill in more than a decade, Trump signed in April a Congressional Review bill into law annulling a recent Obama administration regulation that would have prohibited states from discriminating in awarding Title X family planning funds based on whether a local clinic also performs abortions.Abortion: The Trump administration in April cut off U.S. funding of the United Nations Population Fund, which has links to inhumane abortion programs such as China’s one-child policy (which became a two-child policy in 2015). More than $32 million was instead shifted to the U.S. Agency for International Development.Abortion: In April, Trump appointed pro-life advocate Dr. Charmaine Yoest, the former president of Americans United for Life, as assistant secretary of public affairs for the Department of Health and Human Services, replacing a strong Planned Parenthood supporter. Later, two pro-life advocates who had worked for the Family Research Council were appointed to key positions. And Valerie Huber, an abstinence education advocate, was appointed in June as chief of staff to the assistant secretary for health at the HHS.MARCH 2017Trade deficit: Trump signed an executive order in March directing a review of and reporting on major U.S. trade deficits.Middle East: In March, the administration, led by U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, condemned a report against Israel by the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia that was deemed anti-Semitic, prompting the resignation of the commission’s executive director.Economy:S. homebuilder confidence rose to its strongest level in nearly 12 years, as strength in the jobs market and improving wages bolstered demand for homes.Syria: In March, the Trump administration successfully forced the G-20 to remove its opposition to protectionism and temper its support for free trade. Any mention of climate change was eliminated from its joint statement.Government reform: In March, Trump signed an executive order to perform an audit on every executive branch agency to reduce spending and waste and improve services.FEBRUARY 2017Savings for oil companies: Trump signed a bill in February that eliminated a Dodd-Frank rule requiring oil companies such as Exxon Mobile to publicly disclose the taxes and fees they pay to foreign governments, which would have cost the industry as much as $385 million annually.Finance reform: The administration ordered review of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law in February while urging Congress to remove the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority to supervise banks and financial companies, returning that power to other federal and state regulators.Russia: The administration countered Russian propaganda by launching two government-run media outlets in February broadcasting in Russian.Military: In February the administration reached a tentative deal with Lockheed Martin to purchase 90 F-35 jets at the lowest price in the program’s history. The first 90 planes were about $725 million below budget, with billions of dollars in additional savings expected. The deal saved at least one U.S. ally, Japan, $100 million.Government reform: In February, the president announced he did not plan on filling numerous government positions he considered unnecessary.Law enforcement: In February, President Trump signed three executive orders to strengthen law enforcement. The first strengthens the law against international crime organizations. The second combats anti-law-enforcement crimes. The third seeks a strategy for reducing crime in general, including, in particular, illegal immigration, drug trafficking and violent crime.School bathrooms: Trump, in February, reversed Obama’s executive order requiring public schools to allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms according to their preferred “gender identity.”Second Amendment: President Trump signed a bill into law in February repealing an Obama-era Social Security Administration rule adding mental disability determinations to the background check registry. The Obama regulation potentially allowed the denial of Second Amendment rights to many competent, mentally healthy citizens.JANUARY 2017Trans Pacific Partnership: Trump signed an executive order in January removing the U.S. from the international pact, which critics charged was a monumental compromise to American sovereignty and would take millions of jobs away from American workers.Persecuted Christians: Reversing Obama administration policy, Trump pledged in January that Christian refugees suffering persecution in Muslim countries would be given priority over other refugees seeking to enter the United States.Homeland security: Trump signed an executive order in January banning people from seven countries regarded by the Obama administration as havens for terrorism from entering the U.S. for 90 days and blocked all refugees for 120 days while the administration assessed its security process. After legal challenges, the administration issued a revised order in March, and in June the U.S. Supreme Court decided a version of the ban could go into effect until the court addresses its constitutionality in October.Immigration: The DOJ resumed the criminal prosecution of first-time illegal border crossers after it had been stopped by the Obama administration.Government reform: Trump signed an executive order in January to expedite environmental reviews of infrastructure projects, to jumpstart industry spending and investment.Manufacturing regulations: Trump signed an executive order in January reducing regulations on manufacturers.Abortion: In January, Trump expressed strong support for the annual pro-life March for Life. Vice President Mike Pence became the first vice president to speak at the event, and White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway also spoke.Regulatory reform: Trump set up task forces in every agency to remove “job killing regulations” and increase “economic opportunity.” The Trump administration is on track to finish the first phase of its regulatory reform program with $645 million in net annual regulatory savings, according to an analysis by the American Action Forum. By comparison, during President Obama’s years in office, more than 22,700 regulations were imposed on Americans at a cost to American consumers, businesses and workers of more than $120 billion each year. AAF called Trump’s order reducing regulation and controlling regulatory costs “one of the most significant developments in regulatory policy in decades,” noting it was the first time in U.S. history that the executive branch has established a regulatory budget.Women in business: Trump launched the United States-Canada Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in February.Immigration: Trump expanded deportation priorities, signing an executive order in January that includes people who “have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense,” which could include anyone who entered the country illegally, leading to a significant increase in arrests.Military: In January, Trump signed a memorandum to begin the expansion and rebuilding of the U.S. military.Government reform: Trump signed an executive order Jan. 23 placing a hiring freeze on federal employees.Regulatory reform: Shortly after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order mandating that for every new regulation, two regulations must be revoked. In practice, the administration has exceeded that mark, rescinding or delaying more than 860 regulations, or 16 regulations for every new one implemented.Abortion: In January, Trump signed an order reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which defunded the International Planned Parenthood Federation and other organizations that promote foreign abortions.President’s salary: President Trump, as promised during his election campaign, has donated his salary.Technology: After his election, Trump met with top tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Bill Gates of Microsoft and Jeff Bezos of Amazon. According to Gates, it was “a good conversation about innovation, how it can help in health, education, the impact of foreign aid and energy, and a wide-ranging conversation about power of innovation.”