Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

WASHINGTON — After nearly two years of talking about it, President Donald Trump took action Wednesday to "build the wall."

Trump signed a pair of executive orders on Wednesday praised by immigration reform advocates as "historic" and by advocates for immigrant rights as "terrifying."

MORE: Trump signs executive orders on immigration action

Included in the executive orders are plans to:

Jump-start funding for a border wall along the southern border of the United States;

Hiring 5,000 additional border patrol agents and 10,000 immigration officers; and

Cutting federal funds for "sanctuary cities," which are municipalities that don't cooperate with immigration authorities. New Jersey has four sanctuary cities: Newark, Jersey City, East Orange and Maplewood. Advocates have also identified Princeton, Middlesex and Union counties as sanctuaries for immigrants.

“I’m asking all of you to enforce the laws of the United States of America,” Trump said, speaking to Department of Homeland Security employees. “They will be enforced and enforced strongly "We will work within the existing system and framework. We are going to restore the rule of law in the United States.”

ALL IN ALL: Is Trump's border wall feasible?

But those aren't the only actions that Trump is likely to take on immigration. As soon as Thursday, Trump is expected to sign an executive order that would suspend issuing visas to immigrants coming from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen for at least 30 days, according to the Associated Press.

Trump also is expected to sign an order that would stop accepting Syrian refugees indefinitely and suspend the country's refugee program for 120 days.

Casa Freehold director Rita Dentino said Trump's actions were just the icing on the cake after nearly two years of anti-immigrant rhetoric. Clients of the Freehold Borough-based nonprofit that helps day laborers have been "openly attacked in school or at the mall, told they're 'going home,'" she said.

“It’s just another level of terror, really,” she said.

Seth Kaper-Dale, gubernatorial candidate and senior co-pastor of the Reformed Church of Highland Park, said: “The attitudes and actions of the president takes what Governor Christie has said negatively about refugees and just takes it to the next level. For those of us who work very hard on behalf of victims of the world’s abuses, we feel like it’s an assault on us when a president of a first world nation not only doesn’t support our efforts to serve victims of the world’s abuses, but actively gets in the way of such efforts. It’s a repulsive decision by the president and there is no room for that sort of attitude or behavior in the United States of America.”

Paying for it

But the effect of Trump's crackdown on "sanctuary cities" won't be realized until it's revealed what funding source is a stake, said Chia-Chia Wang, an organizer with the American Friends Service Committee, an immigrant rights group.

MORE: How Trump can defund 'sanctuary cities'

For example, threatening to pull Community Development Block Grants would have a far greater affect on urban cities than a suburban town, Wang said.

“We have to wait and see how they’re going to implement it, but we anticipate a lot of outcry from advocates and community members,” Wang said. “I do think there is some innate fear among local government who want to continue with their sanctuary policies.”

Highland Park Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler noted that Highland Park “has not classified itself as a Sanctuary city because those are just words and we believe in action. We are not a Sanctuary City and we will always be looking for ways to protect all our residents.”

“The Statute of Liberty was given to us by France in appreciation for being a welcoming haven for people who needed a safe home,” she added. “I think Mr. Trump has forgotten the meaning of this country – not only in this recent decision against Sanctuary cities, but in many of the actions he’s taken.”

After Trump spoke, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said they will continue to do all they can to protect residents from deportation, despite the president's move to block federal grants from municipalities that refuse to hand over non-criminal immigrants for deportation.

Fulop issued a statement saying “we intend to stand by our principles and values as a city,” while Baraka said Newark saw “no reason to change” (its) policies.

Those sentiments were echoed by Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, who also is president of the New Jersey Urban Mayor’s Association.

“It is my duty to do my best to protect our community and that includes our undocumented residents, those hardworking families, whose children are pursuing an education and seeking a better life in the great United States of America,” Diaz said. “We must protect our cities -- I for one intend to do so.”

Trump's administration may face legal challenges, as some federal courts have found that cities or counties cannot hold immigrants beyond their jail terms or deny them bond based only a request from immigration authorities.

But Trump is yet to outline the actual funding of the border wall project. On the campaign trail, he repeatedly promised that Mexico would pay for it, but U.S. taxpayers are expected to cover the initial costs.

However, in the executive order, the new administration did not detail how it will compel Mexico to reimburse the money, though one of the executive actions signed on Wednesday appears to signal that Trump could restrict aid.

In an interview with ABC News earlier Wednesday, Trump said, “There will be a payment; it will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form.”

International, national and local reaction

After Trump's action, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto -- who is expected to visit Washington next week -- was said to be “considering” canceling the trip.

Trump is unveiling his immigration plans at a time when detentions at the nation’s southern border are down significantly from levels seen in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The arrest tally last year was the fifth-lowest since 1972.

Federation for American Immigration Reform President Dan Stein called Trump's actions "an historic, much-needed course correction."

"While this action will not bring back the thousands of innocent lives lost or destroyed by reckless sanctuary policies, it will go a long way to making sure this senseless and preventable carnage doesn't continue," Stein said.

Central Jersey advocates also are concerned about what will happen next.

"We don't want the people being punished, being beat up," said Flor Gonzalez, president of the Latin American Coalition based in Plainfield. "Plainfield has immigrants from many different countries -- Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico -- I mean you name it, whatever race you want, we have plenty."

She said that the people Trump is targeting are hardworking people "contributing to our country."

"It is very important for the president to see our community for what it is today," she said. Not only the people with criminal convictions "but to see the good people that also come in."

Jagdish Vasudev, director of the New Americans Program at United of Central Jersey, feels that the president is not being clear about what exactly he wants to do,.

"Is he talking about just criminals? That's a different issue," he said. "If he's saying just anybody who he's going to identify as undocumented and deport them, and they may have children, what are they going to do? Are they going to deport the parents of a U.S. citizen? That's something that I think is absolutely insensitive."

"Right now, I think our president is making a lot of statements without a lot of research. I don't know what will come out of it," he said. "It's something that's really, really puzzling and it's making a lot of people really concerned."

The implementation of these orders seems to be adding a level of fear on both sides of the issue, said Bonnie Duncan, CEO of the United Way of Hunterdon County.

“We will continue to provide services to people who are in need. At the end of the day, that’s what we do,” Duncan said. “My question right now is how we continue to service our community and unite people and bring them together, and not tear them apart.”

New Jersey Democratic politicians were critical of the president’s actions.

In a statement, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said it was “shameful for President Trump to ‘target’ the cities he is sworn to defend and, by extension, the people he is sworn to serve.”

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., agreed: “Donald Trump started his campaign by calling Mexicans rapists and murderers and he is shamefully starting his presidency by declaring open season on immigrants and refugees.”

But among Trump's supporters in New Jersey, the immigration action was welcome. Freehold Township resident Dolores Albrecht traveled to Washington for his inauguration and was delighted when she heard "the wall" was being restarted.

She wanted former President George W. Bush to build it — instead of the 580 miles of wire fencing installed between 2006 and 2010.

“I don’t think it’s stereotyping," Albrecht said of Trump's immigration policies. "If you have any suspicion, you have to look all around. Nowadays, you have to be secure.”

Staff Writers Susan Loyer, Nick Muscavage and Paul C. Grzella contributed to this report, as did the Associated Press

Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com