In one of the more unique examples of “keeping up with Trump,” Yolo County’s Board of Supervisors has been presented with a “Presidential Executive Order Tracker.”

The “tracker” was from the chief administrative officer. There are probably other counties doing similar things and maybe even cities, but it’s the first time I’ve seen something locally based.

I’m a “news junkie.” I actually enjoy being up-to-date on local, state, national and world events. I also get intelligence wherever I can find it through personal conversation, the internet, newspapers, news organizations and even (occasionally) television.

With regard to President Donald Trump, however, it’s tough keeping up with the “firehose” of “breaking news.”

The “Executive Order Tracker” offers me perspective on how some of Trump’s orders affect Yolo County. So far, there are five “orders” given, starting on Feb. 18 and ending March 1.

The first order is listed as “Ensuring Accountability for all Agencies.” It states that it shall be “the policy of the executive branch to ensure Presidential supervision and control of the entire Executive branch. Moreover, all executive departments and agencies including independent agencies shall submit for review all proposed and final significant regulatory actions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Executive Office of the President before publication in the Federal Register.

The county’s response: “Worth noting the potential reduction of checks and balances on executive authority, specifically, over the control of independent agencies’ determinations and direction. Difficult to quantify a direct local impact to date.”

Other orders, summaries and “impacts” on the county are lengthier and get very specific or very broad because the orders are themselves specific or unclear. The one of most interest, however, was an order issued Feb. 19 “ending taxpayer subsidization of Open Borders.”

Basically, the interpretation is that “the head of each executive department or agency will identify all federally funded programs administered by the agency that currently permit illegal aliens to obtain any cash or non-cash public benefit, and take all appropriate actions to align such programs with the purposes of this order which is to uphold the rule of law, defend taxpayer resources and protect benefits for American citizens.”

The effects on Yolo County number eight and consider what it means for Yolo County to be a “Safe and Welcoming Place for all.” As such, the executive order could impact the Health and Human Services Agency most of all in terms of assisting people and their immigration status or federal benefits, a variety of safety net programs and ag worker programs as well as CalWorks and its programs for refugees and allowances for benefits with mixed immigration families, along with Medi-Cal or health insurance for low-income people and families.

However, on Feb. 11 of this year, supervisors approved an “Advocacy Policy” which supports actions that uphold the Constitution and “due process rights for all people and protect the people and economy of Yolo County” as well as “oppose actions that may be harmful to families or children that interfere with a person’s right to pursue asylum in the United State or that result in a denial of due process of law.”

There’s a lot more to read and people should do that because Yolo County, like many other California counties, appears to be on a collision course with the Trump administration over upholding or curtailing what I would consider to be the fundamental rights of those who call this place home.

Jim Smith is the former editor of The Daily Democrat, retiring in 2021 after a 27-year career at the paper.