President Donald Trump was sworn in Jan. 20 for his second term in the White House. His administration wasted no time signing a plethora of executive orders on day one. Massachusetts voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris with an overwhelming majority of 61.2% in November 2024. With the state’s clear preference against Trump in the election, what do Bostonians and Massachusetts residents think of his first week in office?
Immigration is top of mind for many residents after the president issued an executive order titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship” in an effort to rescind the guarantee of birthright citizenship as solidified by the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Boston College Law School student Tiara Nourishad is exploring immigration law, and the recent executive order is one of her biggest concerns. Despite her worries, Nourishad said she believes the executive order will be challenged in court and ruled unconstitutional.
She flagged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, raids as a major concern for Boston’s immigrant population, specifically citing the anticipatory fear they cause.
“Just ICE being everywhere and people being scared to go to school and work and stuff is concerning,” Nourishad said.
An estimated 90,217 incoming immigrants between 2023 and 2024 now call Boston home. 29% of the city’s population is comprised of immigrants, according to 2021 census data.
Maria Ximena, a young woman visiting Boston from her home country, Colombia, is unsure what her future looks like under the new Trump administration. She hopes to pursue an education in the U.S. but is nervous about the social and political nuances.
“These are my people and I know that we have invited bad things, but I also know that there are people like me, just looking for opportunities, so obviously, I’m concerned about it,” Ximena said.
Among the myriad executive orders signed by Trump are actions that will impact the LGBTQ+ community, a pressing concern for many in Boston. Most notable is the executive order, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” — or what the internet is referring to as the “Anti-Transgender Executive Order.”
The executive order states that the United States only recognizes two binary, biological and “not changeable” sexes determined at conception — male and female — ending legal recognition of transgender, intersex and nonbinary people under federal law. Many Boston residents worry about the discriminatory implications of this order against the LGBTQ+ community.
“We have a grandchild who’s a trans person right now, and so we’ve been following him and learning a lot about him, and I don’t fully understand it all, but I totally get that it’s a real thing,” said Kailia Star, a healing coach from northwest of Boston. “I don’t think they should be discriminated and tortured and punished the way that they all are.”
Various marginalized communities in the United States feel threatened under the new administration, with LGBTQ+ rights at the forefront of many Bostonians’ minds.
“I would say women’s rights [and] LGBT rights feel the most unsafe,” said Shane Kieran, a central Massachusetts resident who works in the medical device industry.
The president also signed an executive order officially ending diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs within federal agencies. Halting these initiatives aligns with previous actions targeting DEI in Trump’s first term and his inaugural promise to “end government policy trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”
“I just feel like it’s an overstimulation of information, like he’s overturning so much stuff from so many decades of so many past presidents that have worked to do it,” said Paulina Rincon, a psychology student at Boston College.
Trump repealed federal government DEI practices, influencing all federal agencies, including the Department of Education. A temporary hiring freeze was also imposed, igniting fear in many Boston residents regarding their education.
“He’s talking about the funding [for] education. That’s the big concern for me because I feel like what we need is more funding towards education,” said Nicolas Fasano, a theatre arts and English student at Clark University.
Executive orders are not the only aspect of the Trump administration on residents’ minds; his incoming cabinet and the upcoming cabinet hearings cause a big divide among Massachusetts residents.
Some individuals, like Kieran, have concerns regarding Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
While Kieran agrees that everyone should be concerned about the food industry and what food companies are putting in their products, he does not view Kennedy as an appropriate choice for the position.
“I think in terms of the actual people that are being put in leadership, I’d say even if they have good ideas, they can be volatile,” Kieran said. “I think a lot of that comes down to making rash decisions and not actually being well-informed.”
However, there are other Massachusetts residents who support Trump’s choice of Kennedy. Star falls under this category.
“I’m not a big fan of Trump, but I am a fan of Kennedy, and I hope he gets in because I think he’ll do some phenomenal things,” she said.
She said she supports Kennedy’s work against chemical and pharmaceutical companies.
“I think if he gets confirmed … it can potentially be good,” Star said. “I know a lot of people are freaked out about it.”
Some agencies, like the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, are bracing for funding freezes in addition to the hiring suspension imposed on all federal agencies.
“I’m a bio student, so all of the NIH funding being cut is really scary,” said Sam Balaban, a third-year biology major at Northeastern University.
With several executive orders abolishing environmental protections and climate action initiatives, academics aren’t the only thing affected — the future itself concerns Boston residents, young and old.
“I think America needs to wake up and see what he’s doing,” said 15-year-old Rhys Purinton from Concord, New Hampshire. “It makes me feel scared for the future because I don’t know what will happen.”
Berta Casanova Ferrer and Gitana Savage contributed reporting.
