When Donald J. Trump was sworn in for a second term as the 47th President of the United States in January 2025, he declared, “The Golden Age of America, I call it,” he said. “It’s begun.” But how ‘Golden’ has the first year of President Trump’s second term truly been? Has he followed through on his promises to the American people, and if so, how successful has he been?
Concerning drug trafficking, the Trump administration consistently framed opioids as a major national security threat. Trump declared cartel-related drug trafficking of fentanyl and other opioids as among the top threats facing the U.S. and noted tens of thousands of U.S. deaths linked to such drugs in recent years.
In response, the White House highlighted public health data in 2025 showing a decline in overdose deaths and reported federal figures that fentanyl trafficking at the southern border dropped significantly during Trump’s first year in office. Supporters of the administration see these results as a validation of tough border enforcement and stepped-up cooperation with foreign partners like Mexico to stem the flow of drugs. However, critics point out that the fentanyl crisis was already on decline in late 2024, alluding to a natural decline unrelated to Trump’s border policies. Despite official claims of progress, overdose deaths from fentanyl and other opioids remain a persistent problem nationally.
Immigration enforcement increased dramatically under Trump’s renewed leadership. Early in 2025, he signed an executive order titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion”, which expanded expedited removal and penalized jurisdictions that limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) subsequently increased deportations and launched broad enforcement operations across the country.
Deportations were quickly scrutinized. However, these operations invoked even more scrutiny following multiple shootings of U.S. citizens. On January 7, 2026, Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman, was fatally shot by an ICE agent during an enforcement action in the city. Later that month, another U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, was also killed during a confrontation with ICE agents. These deaths sparked widespread protests, national media scrutiny, and calls for independent investigations and accountability for the ICE agents responsible.
In response to growing tension, the Department of Homeland Security issued guidance for agents in Minnesota to avoid engaging with “agitators” and to focus enforcement on individuals with criminal charges. Nonetheless, the presence of federal agents in communities like Minneapolis has remained a flashpoint, with state officials filing lawsuits and lawmakers debating the constitutional limits of federal immigration crackdowns.
Trump’s first year back in power thus exemplified his hallmark tough-on-crime and immigration enforcement stance—but also revealed deep divisions in how Americans view law enforcement, civil rights, and public safety in the context of immigration and drug policy.