Up First from NPR
Ukraine-Russia Peace, Noncitizens And Due Process, Khartoum Destroyed
Fri, 25 Apr 2025
Ukraine says a ceasefire must be in place first before it will accept a peace deal with Russia, President Trump claims it's not possible for all of the people he wants to deport to get a trial, and after two years of brutal fighting, Sudan's once-vibrant capitol city of Khartoum is in ruins.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Tara Neill, Anna Yukhananov, Ryland Barton, Janaya Williams and Jan Johnson. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the current status of the Ukraine-Russia peace talks?
The Trump administration is demanding that Ukraine accept a peace deal favoring the Kremlin. Ukraine says a ceasefire must be in place first.
With so little progress on the ceasefires, there's still a chance for peace.
I'm Michelle Martin, that's A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. President Trump says it's not possible for all of the people he wants to deport to get a trial. Top officials in his administration have said that due process is only for U.S. citizens. What rights do non-citizens have in this process?
And the civil war in Sudan started in the capital city of Khartoum. After two years of brutal fighting, the once vibrant city is in ruins. NPR is one of the few Western news outlets to gain access to the city to see the destruction. We'll have a report from our correspondent. Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start today.
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Ukraine is marking a day of mourning today. At least 12 people died in Russian drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. President Trump scolded Russian President Vladimir Putin on social media for the attacks. Trump says he wants peace quickly. He says Ukraine must accept concessions and that Russia is making a pretty big concession by not occupying all of Ukraine.
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Chapter 2: How are Ukrainians reacting to recent Russian attacks and U.S. political positions?
NPR's Ukraine correspondent, Joanna Kakisis, joins us now from Kyiv. Joanna, tell us more about this latest Russian attack on the capital.
Well, A, there is a lot of anger and grief here, as to be expected. We spoke with 40-year-old Maria Rumyantseva, who scrambled to evacuate her elderly mother before a Russian missile destroyed their home. She said Russian attacks on Ukraine seem to have escalated after Trump started accommodating Russia in peace talks. And she had this question for President Trump.
I'm a mother of an invalid on an invalid visa. How do I get my mother, a disabled person in a wheelchair, down from the second floor to the first floor to the bomb shelter alone in 8 minutes?
We also spoke to Olena Kurkovska, who ran out of her home in her bathrobe just before the walls caved in. She believes Trump is sacrificing Ukraine for a quick deal.
Trump is simply selling Ukraine and giving it away. And Ukraine cannot give up its territories. Even though these are occupied, this is our territory. Ukrainians live here.
Now, most Ukrainians refuse to recognize Ukrainian land occupied by Russia as part of Russia, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to accept demands by the Trump administration to do so.
Therefore, this attack, Trump blames Zelensky for prolonging the war, and he was largely seen as accommodating Russian demands. Has this attack changed that at all?
Well, no, I mean, Trump did chide Putin on social media for the attack, but he also said that Russia is already making a big concession by not occupying all of Ukraine. And statements like this obviously make Ukrainians very nervous, especially coming from the leader of the U.S., which was once Ukraine's strongest single ally. Now, Zelensky says his country wants peace.
He has agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire brokered by the U.S. last month, something Russia did not agree to. And Zelensky's team is finalizing a minerals deal that could make the U.S. a lot of money. So in return, Ukraine wants the U.S. to provide security guarantees so Russia does not invade their country again. But the Trump administration so far is only offering vague promises.
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Chapter 3: What security guarantees is Ukraine seeking from the U.S.?
He's saying, I do not believe in friendship between the United States and Russia. It is impossible. He said, such a friendship defies history and the interests of the West. But when I pressed him about the U.S. cutting off military aid to Ukraine last month, he admitted that this could happen again. And then he said, Ukraine will try to defend itself on its own as long as it can.
That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis in Kiev. Joanna, thanks.
You're welcome.
President Trump is working hard to implement a campaign promise for mass deportations.
Officials are moving quickly to arrest, detain, and remove people from the country. But critics say such fast action skirts due process that all people in the U.S.
should receive. NPR's immigration policy reporter Jimena Bustillo joins us now to unpack all of this. So Jimena, has the administration addressed what due process means for their mass deportation goals?
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Chapter 4: Do Ukrainians still have hope in U.S. support amid the conflict?
Yes. Earlier this week, Trump said that it wasn't possible for all the people he wants to remove to get a trial.
And I hope we get cooperation from the courts because, you know, we have thousands of people that are ready to go out and you can't have a trial for all of these people.
Vice President J.D. Vance went as far as to call it a, quote, fake legal process on social media. And in another post, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has said, quote, the judicial process is for Americans. Immediate deportation is for illegal aliens. But critics broadly point to the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
That states that no person can, quote, be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The administration seems to be banking on Americans believing that non-citizens don't get the same due process as citizens. That's according to Musafar Chishti from the Migration Policy Institute.
That may be politically a good slogan. Unfortunately, Constitution does not make any distinction between citizens and non-citizens for the application of the protections of due process and judicial review.
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Chapter 5: What are President Trump's deportation plans and their implications for due process?
The ultimate concern, he says, is that if you strip due process for one group, that's a slippery slope for others.
All right, so let's get into that because let's assume that some people are good with the argument that due process rights are not owed to everyone. What's the argument then about why that's not just incorrect, that it is a slippery slope for absolutely everyone?
Put simply, because mistakes are made. It's central to the Constitution that if the government makes any accusation, people accused have a chance to respond. Immigration courts were designed specifically as a neutral space where both the government and immigrants could both make their cases. Not every person gets the same rights, though. It's a spectrum of rights, you know, law experts tell me.
Chapter 6: What legal arguments surround due process rights for non-citizens in deportation cases?
It depends on how long you've been in the country and other factors. I spoke with Ashley Tabador. She's a former immigration judge, and she said the government can't just act on the basis of allegations.
Government is not immune from making errors and errors that can cost someone's life. So what is at stake is oftentimes a life and death situation.
Are there any examples of such errors already?
You know, the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia brought the question of due process to the forefront. In 2019, an immigration judge had decided that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but last month officials arrested him. Within days, and by mistake, he was sent to a prison in El Salvador.
Other lawyers fighting Trump's policies have alleged their clients didn't have deportation orders yet and were due in court, and suddenly they ended up in other countries. And lawyers have told me that they've defended U.S. citizens or others with legal status who got arrested or detained when they shouldn't have. But Trump administration is making other changes too.
They increased the number of people who can be removed without a court hearing, and they've terminated contracts that provide legal services to over 20,000 minors without legal status. and they fired and accepted resignations from over 100 court staff, including dozens of judges. Critics warn that erodes those due process protections America was founded on.
That's NPR's immigration policy reporter, Ximena Bustillo. Thanks a lot.
Thank you.
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Chapter 7: Why is due process crucial in immigration courts, and what risks arise without it?
Our final story this morning doesn't often make it into the headlines in the U.S., although a lot of people have argued it should.
Sudan's capital city of Khartoum has been systematically destroyed. The once vibrant city at the junction of the White and Blue Nile has been hollowed out after two years of civil war.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary rapid support forces, or RSF, started in Khartoum. Then, over a month ago, in a major shift, the city was liberated by the Sudanese army. Now, for the first time, the outside world is getting a glimpse of what has been left behind. NPR is one of the few Western news outlets that's made it into Khartoum.
With us now is NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu, who has just returned from there and joins us now from the de facto capital of Port Sudan. So tell us, Emmanuel, what you saw as you traveled through Khartoum.
Good morning. It's utterly devastating and surreal. Before Khartoum became the centre of the war, this was a really vibrant, proud, historic city, over six million people. But then two years of war between these two former allies and then occupation by the rapid support forces until just the last month really has left the city emptied, almost eerie.
Sways of it are torched, damaged, destroyed by artillery and gunfire. And this is from everyday areas to the presidential palace to hospitals, schools, museums. Even the airport has been burnt to a crisp. Before the RSF were forced out of Khartoum, they stripped the city almost like locusts, looting it to a degree that's honestly just really hard to grasp.
And that's from the National Museum where they took tens of thousands of ancient artefacts and even down to electric wires ripped from the walls in almost every building that they occupied. and they strip them for copper. The city is without power, there's a shortage of water, virtually no state services, although they're gradually returning.
So if the city is missing power, shortage of water, I mean, basic services, I mean, can people return?
Well, there are tractors at the moment clearing debris, teams of sweepers cleaning the streets, and they're still finding unexploded bombs and human remains. But you're right, it's mostly uninhabitable. There's a trickle of people returning, but mainly to find out or confront what's happened to their property and their belongings. We went to a bakery and spoke to the owner, Yousuf Aldi.
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