How The Trump Admin Uses Immigration Policy To Show Force

The NPR Politics Podcast

NPR

Politics, Daily News, News

4.5 • 24.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As a candidate, Donald Trump campaigned on carrying out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. As president, he's used immigration policy as a backdrop for other shows of force. We explore how he uses immigration as a political issue.

This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political reporter Elena Moore, and immigration policy reporter Ximena Bustillo.

This podcast was produced and edited by Casey Morell & Bria Suggs. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from the Walton Family Foundation, working to create access to opportunity for people and communities by tackling tough social and environmental problems.
0:12.0	More information is at waltonfamilyfoundation.org.
0:16.0	Hi, this is Rowan in Dallas, Texas, and I am working on a props list for a theater show while my cat Greg sits in my lap and purrs.
0:28.8	This podcast was recorded at 12.22 p.m. on Thursday, August 21st.
0:35.1	Things may have changed by the time you hear it.
0:39.2	Okay, here's the show.
0:46.4	Such good hurry.
0:47.0	Wow.
0:50.3	She too is auditioning for a job as an NPR reporter.
1:11.0	Because as we know, the pipeline from theater star, child actress, failed actress in my account to journalist is quite strong. I was a debate kid, not a theater kid, so sorry. You're outnumbered right now. You are outnumbered. Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Tamara Keith. I cover the White House. I'm Elena Moore. I cover politics. And I'm Hima Bustillo,
1:15.8	and I cover immigration policy. And today on the show, we're taking a look at immigration and immigration courts. These courts are busy. They're understaffed. And they are under even more
1:20.9	strain as the government ramps up immigration enforcement efforts. We want to focus on a few
1:26.9	courtrooms in particular, those in lower
1:28.9	Manhattan. And Hemena, you spent a couple of days there. You've also spent time in other immigration
1:34.5	courts. So tell us what these ones were like and how they're different from the ones you've visited
1:40.3	before. So the ones that I've visited before, they're very administrative. I mean,
1:46.0	in general, immigration courts are you can describe them as a bit sterile, echoy, almost like basement-like.
1:53.9	There aren't a lot of windows. And people go there to ultimately admit that they have entered the country without legal status or here in the country without legal status.
2:05.3	And here are the reasons why they should stay if they have valid claims.
2:10.9	You know, these courts are generally very empty.
2:13.3	The people who go there for that business.
2:15.0	So the immigrants, the attorneys with the Department
	...

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