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By Nirmal P. Acharya

Trump has run into big trouble at the very beginning of the year 2026. Three former US presidents, in a rare joint move, have criticized the immigration enforcement crisis caused by him. Currently, Biden, Obama and Clinton have successively issued condemnation statements against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions within just three days, forming a rare political encirclement.

The cause of the incident was two consecutive shootings of American citizens by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

On January 7, 2026, in Minneapolis, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot and killed an American citizen, Good, during an operation to arrest illegal immigrants. Just 17 days later, on the morning of January 24, in the same city about two kilometers away, 37-year-old American citizen, Pretty, was shot dead by immigration enforcement officers again.

In the face of escalating tensions, three former presidents spoke out one after another. The Obamas were the first to issue a lengthy statement on January 25, defining the shooting incident as a “tragedy”. They criticized the Trump administration for “wanting to escalate the situation rather than attempting to impose some degree of discipline and accountability on the agents they deployed”, and pointed out that “this should serve as a wake-up call for every American”. On the same day, Clinton issued a statement, calling on the American people to “step forward”, emphasizing that “in our lifetime, only a few moments do our decisions and actions shape the history of the years to come. And now is one of those moments”, and he called the condemnation of immigration enforcement actions “unacceptable”. On January 27, Biden also joined the fray, with more force, directly targeting Trump and criticizing the Trump administration’s law enforcement actions as “betraying the most fundamental values of Americans.”

But Trump posted on his social media, demanding that Minnesota “hand over all criminal illegal immigrants”, and calling on “every Democratic governor and mayor across the United States to cooperate with the federal government in law enforcement, rather than resisting it, inciting division, chaos and violence”. This shows that even though he is facing the “encirclement” of three former presidents, he still maintains a firm stance. And the response from White House spokesperson Jackson was even more straightforward: If the American people really cared about Obama’s ideas, “why didn’t they choose him to support Harris as the president during the election?”

At this point, I think it is necessary to review the first tumultuous year since Trump returned to the White House.

Looking back eight years ago, what was the impression that Trump left during his first term? Was it rule by Twitter? Was it a revolving cabinet of officials constantly changing?

At that time, there were so-called “adults in the room” in the White House trying to put a leash on Trump, pulling at the reins from time to time.

Back then, there were still so-called “adults in the room” at the White House trying to rein in Trump, pulling on the reins from time to time.

But by 2025, all the “adults in the room” had vanished, leaving only those who were “loyal” to the “Great Leader” to carry out his orders.

According to statistics, in the first year of Trump’s return to the White House, the number of executive orders he signed reached an astonishing 220 or more.

On the very first day of Trump’s swearing-in as the President of the United States, he was like a student frantically finishing homework on the last day of winter break, signing over 30 orders in one go.

The core feature of the Trump 2.0 era is to sweep away all the obstacles and stumbling blocks that dare to stand in his way with ultimate efficiency and absolute control over power.

If Trump’s “building the border wall” during his first term was more of a symbolic totem, then his immigration policies during the second term were real and forceful measures. Data shows that the number of people detained in US immigration detention centers has soared by more than 70% in 2025. This is not because the facilities have been expanded, but because the efficiency of arrests has increased. The Department of Homeland Security’s database, code-named “Worst of the Worst”, has been reactivated and significantly expanded. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “Operation Clear America” is no longer a piecemeal effort, but a large-scale, nationwide operation. This is the largest and fastest immigration clearance operation in modern US history. Trump has too many things to deal with, so he no longer focuses on discussing “who can come in”, but devotes all his energy to the enforcement level of “who must go”. This ultra-high-pressure stance, which shows no mercy to anyone, not only makes the large number of illegal immigrants in the US tremble in fear, but also causes deep pain to the US agriculture and service industries, which rely heavily on cheap immigrant labor.

ICE, in an attempt to implement Trump’s immigration policies, committed murders on the street. As a result, more and more states, such as Minnesota, California, and New York, have witnessed riots and even civil unrest.

It seems that the trend of American politics shifting from party strife to street riots is becoming increasingly evident. This is somewhat similar to the situation in Nepal’s politics. Could it be that American politics is following in the footsteps of Nepalese politics?