STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
If you had to guess before Inauguration Day what would be the biggest story of the Trump administration, nobody would blame you if you picked immigration. In truth, the president's signature issue has been a little obscured by a blizzard of other statements and actions - demands to take over Greenland and Gaza, the reordering of U.S. alliances, a drive to insult and cut down the federal workforce, the prominence of Elon Musk, tariffs on, tariffs off, and even a call to pardon Pete Rose. The administration has also taken steps on immigration, although it keeps changing personnel out of frustration with the results so far. Last night, speaking to Congress, the president talked of rounding up migrants he described as terrorists.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country, or if they're too dangerous, put in jails, standing trial in this country.
INSKEEP: NPR's immigration policy reporter, Ximena Bustillo, was listening in and is with us after a long night. Ximena, good morning.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Well, how did the president highlight immigration as you listened?
BUSTILLO: There were several guests in the audience invited that showcased this priority, not just for the administration but for Republicans. One was House Speaker Mike Johnson's guest, who was White House border czar Tom Homan.
INSKEEP: Oh.
BUSTILLO: Homan is one of the key advisers designating and directing Trump's immigration policy through the federal agencies and has been one of the spokespeople for the administration's goals. Other guests of the White House included Roberto Ortiz, a U.S. Border Patrol agent. And also there were family members of Laken Riley. You might recall that she's a Georgia nursing student whose murder became a rallying cry for Republicans criticizing the Biden administration's immigration plans.
INSKEEP: Right.
BUSTILLO: The first law Trump signed in his second term was named after Riley, and it expanded the scope of who could be deported.
INSKEEP: Now, the president made a claim during the address that illegal border crossings are at the lowest level ever recorded. What do the facts show you?
BUSTILLO: The agency has not reported the numbers for February yet. That's the Customs and Border Protection.
INSKEEP: Right.
BUSTILLO: However, posts on social media by the president suggests the administration is on track to report about 8,500 arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border in the month of February. This could be the lowest number of crossings since Homeland Security started reporting the data in 2000.
INSKEEP: OK, so that is a drop.
BUSTILLO: Right. And these numbers can ebb and flow depending on various factors. During President Biden's administration, unlawful crossings nationwide peaked in 2022. There was another peak again in 2023, but they've been declining ever since and were on a downward trend when Trump took office.
INSKEEP: Now, the president, interestingly enough, also talked about letting people into the country - future action on visas. What's he talking about?
BUSTILLO: Trump recently announced a plan to create a so-called gold card, which he said would allow, quote, "very high-level people" to apply to become lawful permanent residents. His administration has pitched this as a replacement to the current EB-5 immigrant investor visa, but the president can't solely create a new visa. That power lies within Congress. So far, a formal proposal has not been issued by the Trump administration.
And speaking of Congress, Trump also took this speech as a reminder to lawmakers that his administration is asking for more money to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Speaking to reporters at the White House earlier in the day, border czar Tom Homan described the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency as being, quote, "in the hole." And he said that they needed more money for detention beds and flights to send people out, but that money has to come from Congress.
INSKEEP: NPR's Ximena Bustillo. Get some sleep.
BUSTILLO: Thank you.
INSKEEP: And if you're awake this morning, you can see an annotated version of the president's address with fact-checking and analysis from NPR correspondence. It's at npr.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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