PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 22nd, 2025: Trump's Immigration Crackdown Begins & Zelensky Calls On Europe To Commit 200,000 Peacekeeping Troops
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What is Trump's immigration crackdown about?
It's Wednesday, 22 January. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, we'll begin with President Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown as the U.S.-Mexico border closes and mass deportations get underway.
What actions are being taken at the U.S.-Mexico border?
Then we'll turn to the war in Ukraine as President Zelensky calls on European allies to commit a minimum of 200,000 troops To serve as a peacekeeping contingent, should Kiev reach a peace agreement with Moscow? But first, our afternoon spotlight. We'll begin with a look at President Trump's promised crackdown on immigration, which began just hours after he was sworn into office on Monday. Under an executive order declaring a national emergency at the U.S. southern border, all crossings with Mexico have been officially shut down for migrants seeking asylum in the United States. Refugee admissions are also being suspended, effectively cutting off all avenues to cross the border previously available under the Biden administration. That's according to a report from CNN.
How does Trump's immigration policy compare to Biden's?
While Biden had moved early last summer to restrict asylum eligibility at border checkpoints, many migrants were still able to claim refugee status through the controversial CBP One cell phone app, which has allowed at least 936,000 illegal immigrants to apply for asylum since January 2023 from within their home countries before then flying into the United States. But that program was shut down within minutes of Trump being sworn into office. Trump has also moved to suspend a program that allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to be paroled into the U.S. with sponsors. Some 800,000 migrants had been granted entry into the U.S. under the parole program since its implementation back in 2022.
Additionally, Trump has suspended a refugee resettlement program for at least four months and issued an executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents. The sweeping immigration actions have brought traffic at the U.S. southern border to a virtual halt, leaving many migrants who were waiting along Mexico's northern border for asylum appointments in limbo. Andrew Selle, president of the Think Tank Migration Policy Institute, told CNN, quote, As of today, there's almost no way of getting protection at the U.S. border or anywhere along a route to the United States. That's a huge shift, end quote. Well, yes, it is.
What is the current situation for migrants at the border?
With the border secure, Trump has quickly moved to his next immigration agenda, and that would be mass deportations. Trump's border czar, Tom Holman, said Tuesday that immigration and customs enforcement agents, ICE agents, have been directed to begin seeking illegal immigrants living in the U.S. for removal to their home countries. Now, look, it's worth noting, given the hyperbole and the angst, floating about in media and social media about this issue currently, deportations have been a part of US policy for decades. As an example, during Barack Obama's tenure, 400,000 individuals were deported from the US. Tom Homan said they've created what he called target sheets, prioritizing the arrest of illegal migrants with a criminal record or who have been deemed a potential threat to public safety.
The operation got off to a bit of a bumpy start after the administration's plans to arrest illegal immigrants in Chicago were leaked last week, but Homan said they've since reworked their strategy to address concerns around the safety of their agents. Homan told Fox News on Tuesday, quote, ICE officers throughout the country were told today, go make arrests of those here illegally that have a public safety threat. So, they've deployed target sheets and an operational plan to go out in the field. They're out there right now looking for the most serious public safety threats throughout the country, end quote. Homan noted that there are currently more than 700,000 illegal immigrants in cities across the U.S. with criminal records, saying, quote, that's who we're looking for right now, end quote. Now, you wouldn't think that that would be necessarily controversial on either side of the political aisle. We should note there has been some pushback on Trump's efforts to reform the immigration system.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is Trump's immigration crackdown about?
0:12–0:32
2
What actions are being taken at the U.S.-Mexico border?
0:32–1:21
3
How does Trump's immigration policy compare to Biden's?
1:21–2:54
4
What are the implications of mass deportations?
2:54
5
What is the current situation for migrants at the border?
2:29–5:00
6
How is Zelensky addressing European allies?
5:00–5:23
7
What security measures are being discussed for Ukraine?
5:23–11:49
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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