Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Begins

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Begins"

The Daily by The New York Times, hosted by Michael Barbaro and Sabrina Tavernise, explores the significant shift in U.S. immigration policy under President Donald Trump. Released on January 22, 2025, this episode delves into the cascade of executive orders initiated by Trump aimed at overhauling and tightening the country’s immigration system. Through an in-depth conversation with an unnamed analyst, the podcast examines the implications, motivations, and potential consequences of these policy changes.

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1. A Rapid Shift in Immigration Policy

The episode opens with an analysis of President Trump's aggressive implementation of immigration policies. Unlike the gradual policy introductions during his first term, Trump's latest executive orders are characterized by a swift and comprehensive approach intended to transform the nation's immigration framework drastically.

“To me, it seems like President Trump is cramming basically four years of policy into one day.”
— Unnamed Analyst [01:44]

This rapid shift indicates a strategic move to dismantle existing systems established under previous administrations, particularly those initiated by President Biden.

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2. Dismantling Biden-Era Initiatives

One of Trump's first actions was the termination of the CBP1 app, a program introduced by the Biden administration in 2023. This application allowed individuals to schedule legitimate appointments to enter the U.S. through designated ports of entry, thereby reducing illegal crossings and asylum claims.

“President Trump shut down this app.”
— Mohamed [05:34]

Despite the Biden administration's reported success in decreasing border crossings from nearly 250,000 in December 2023 to approximately 46,000 by the end of December 2024, Trump and his allies viewed the CBP1 app as insufficient and another avenue facilitating illegal immigration.

“Republicans felt like, when you're examining the number of arrests at the southern border every month, you need to add that total of people who are entering using this app, add that to the total of arrests as well at the southern border to get a better picture of what's happening at the border.”
— Unnamed Analyst [06:10]

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3. Terminating Asylum and Refugee Programs

Trump's orders extend beyond shutting down the CBP1 app. The administration has also ceased asylum procedures and the refugee admissions program, signifying a broader crackdown on both current and potential immigrants.

3.1. Ending Asylum at the Border

By terminating established pathways for asylum seekers, Trump effectively removes legal avenues for individuals fleeing dangerous conditions to remain in the U.S.

“We're going to take the deterrence approach. We're going to tell you, no longer can you enter our country illegally and have a chance to stay.”
— Unnamed Analyst [07:42]

This move aligns with Trump's characterization of the influx as an "invasion," emphasizing a hardline stance against unauthorized immigration.

3.2. Halting the Refugee Admissions Program

Trump has also paused the refugee admissions program, once restored under Biden to its highest levels in 30 years. This program has historically been supported bipartisanship but is now viewed by Trump as a potential security risk.

“These are immigrants from areas like the Middle East, Syria, and other places, Sudan, who could potentially be a threat to the United States.”
— Unnamed Analyst [17:56]

By suspending this program, Trump signals a return to more restrictive immigration policies, prioritizing national security over the humanitarian aspects traditionally associated with refugee admissions.

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4. Abolishing Humanitarian Parole

Another significant executive order targets the humanitarian parole program, which allowed immigrants from specific countries like Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to enter the U.S. without traversing the dangerous route through Mexico. This program was instrumental in providing safer, legal pathways for individuals seeking refuge.

“President Trump saw this as a way for the government to allow people who had no other route to the United States to fly into the country and to remain as long as they wanted.”
— Unnamed Analyst [13:47]

With over 500,000 individuals having utilized this pathway in two years, its termination underscores Trump's commitment to eliminating legal avenues for immigration, thereby intensifying the focus on enforcement and deterrence.

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5. Revising Birthright Citizenship

Perhaps the most controversial order involves altering the principle of birthright citizenship, a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy enshrined in the 14th Amendment. Trump's executive order seeks to restrict citizenship to individuals born in the U.S. only if at least one parent holds lawful status.

“This is something that they believe no longer should be a thing in the United States.”
— Unnamed Analyst [19:24]

This bold move challenges constitutional interpretations and has already sparked significant legal challenges. States, including New York and San Francisco, have filed lawsuits, labeling the order as "extraordinary and extreme."

“Attorneys general from 22 states had sued President Trump in federal court in an effort to block his executive order ending birthright citizenship.”
— Hamid Ali Aziz [26:04]

Moreover, religious leaders like Bishop Marianne Edgar Buddy have publicly opposed the order, urging Trump to show mercy and uphold the nation's historical compassion towards immigrants.

“Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.”
— Bishop Marianne Edgar Buddy [26:21]

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6. Implications and Future Outlook

The cumulative impact of these executive orders represents a fundamental shift in U.S. immigration policy, moving from regulated and legal pathways to more restrictive and enforcement-oriented measures. The immediate effects include the cancellation of legitimate asylum appointments and the suspension of long-standing refugee programs.

The analyst raises critical questions about the efficacy of such deterrence strategies:

“The question is, will that work? This is going to be a real test of whether or not deterrence works.”
— Unnamed Analyst [22:15]

By eliminating legal routes, the Trump administration risks prompting a resurgence in illegal and potentially more dangerous border crossings, as individuals seek clandestine means to enter the country.

Additionally, the undermining of established programs could strain the U.S.'s international reputation as a haven for those fleeing persecution and conflict. The legal battles, particularly surrounding birthright citizenship, are poised to escalate, potentially reaching the Supreme Court, which may ultimately decide on the constitutionality of these sweeping changes.

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7. Broader Political and Social Reactions

Trump's immigration crackdown has polarized opinions across the political spectrum. While Republican leaders support the measures as necessary for national security and addressing public concerns over immigration levels, Democratic leaders and advocacy groups condemn them as draconian and un-American.

Polls indicate that a significant portion of Americans believe the country has been permitting too many migrants, providing Trump with a mandate to pursue his hardline policies. However, the effectiveness and ethical implications of such an approach remain subjects of intense debate.

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Conclusion

"Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Begins" offers a comprehensive examination of the former president's aggressive efforts to reshape U.S. immigration policy. By systematically dismantling established programs and introducing restrictive measures, Trump aims to address what he and his supporters perceive as a dysfunctional and overextended immigration system. The episode highlights the potential legal challenges, the risk of increased illegal immigration, and the profound transformation of America's immigration landscape. As these policies take effect, their long-term impact on individuals seeking refuge and the nation's socio-political fabric will unfold in the months and years to come.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “To me, it seems like President Trump is cramming basically four years of policy into one day.” — Unnamed Analyst [01:44]
• “President Trump shut down this app.” — Mohamed [05:34]
• “We're going to take the deterrence approach. We're going to tell you, no longer can you enter our country illegally and have a chance to stay.” — Unnamed Analyst [07:42]
• “These are immigrants from areas like the Middle East, Syria, and other places, Sudan, who could potentially be a threat to the United States.” — Unnamed Analyst [17:56]
• “This is something that they believe no longer should be a thing in the United States.” — Unnamed Analyst [19:24]
• “Attorneys general from 22 states had sued President Trump in federal court in an effort to block his executive order ending birthright citizenship.” — Hamid Ali Aziz [26:04]
• “Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.” — Bishop Marianne Edgar Buddy [26:21]
• “The question is, will that work? This is going to be a real test of whether or not deterrence works.” — Unnamed Analyst [22:15]

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This detailed summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from The Daily episode, providing a comprehensive overview for listeners and readers alike.

Transcript

[Michael Barbaro]

This is an advertisement from the American Petroleum Institute. America's energy future begins now. We have the opportunity to strengthen our economy and reduce inflation. And with this opportunity comes great responsibility. Working together, we can harness our energy advantage and improve the lives of every American. More American energy means more jobs, more security, and more innovation. That's the promise of America's oil and natural gas. America's moment is now. Learn [e-mail] from the new York Times, I'm Michael Balbaro.

[Hamid Ali Aziz]

This is the Daily Today. At the heart of President Trump's flurry of executive orders was a systematic dismantling of of the country's current approach to immigration. I spoke with my colleague Hamid Ali Aziz about what the orders do and the message that they Send. It's Wednesday, January 22nd.

[Mohamed]

Mohamed, thank you for coming in the studio here in Washington, which is studio might be a little grandiose, a word for what this is.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Sure.

[Mohamed]

Kind of a closet. Yeah, yeah. But it gets the job done. You have spent the past 24 hours or so studying President Trump's executive orders on immigration and what exactly they seek to accomplish. So with the benefit of that huge amount of time you've had to study this, how are you thinking about them individually and collectively?

[Unnamed Analyst]

To me, it seems like President Trump is cramming basically four years of policy into one day.

[Mohamed]

One half day, One half day.

[Unnamed Analyst]

When you look back at the first Trump administration, it took them a long time to introduce policies like remain in Mexico or trying to strip federal funds from sanctuary cities, ban asylum. All of that happened on Monday night, within a matter of hours.

[Mohamed]

And how would you describe the ultimate goal of all these things he crammed into this first half day?

[Unnamed Analyst]

This was a way for President Trump to reimagine our immigration system, to crack down on the system as a whole. The ability of people to come to this country legally, illegally, and in many ways to make it more uncomfortable for people who are already in this country unlawfully, you know, to have them rethink whether or not this is worth it. Worth it? Yeah. The right place for them to be. And I think at the center of it, it's a condemnation, really, of the Biden administration's policies. What Trump saw, what Stephen Miller, what many in that circle saw, was President Biden opening the borders, making it too easy for people to enter this country and remain indefinitely and allow them to work and live and have no consequences for being in the country unlawfully.

[Mohamed]

Right. And just as a factual statement under President Biden, undocumented immigration in the United States reached record levels, so there's some basis for that complaint. So let's talk about the orders that Trump issued on Monday relating to immigration. So where should we start?

[Unnamed Analyst]

One of the first things that President Trump did is to get rid of a program that Biden administration put into place in 2023, trying to change the way people were entering the country at the southern border. At some point during the Biden administration, they realized that the current status quo was not working. Tens of thousands of people were crossing the border seeking asylum and were being allowed to stay in the country indefinitely. They saw this as a major problem and an incentive for more people to come and to cross. So they thought one way to handle this is to set up a system through an app called CBP1 where people could schedule appointments to enter the country at a port of entry. But if you crossed illegally, asylum access was no longer going to be, you know, given to you.

[Mohamed]

Got it? So this app is an effort to bring some order to the chaos of the border during the Biden presidency.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Totally. The Biden administration felt like they were really providing a roadmap to stabilize the border. You could either come this way and you'd have a chance to stay in the United States, or you come illegally and we're gonna turn you back, we're gonna deport you, we're gonna send you back to your home country.

[Mohamed]

And does this app end up working?

[Unnamed Analyst]

Well, according to the Biden administration, it does, ultimately, in the form of border numbers. The border numbers have been dropping throughout 2024. After the Biden administration put in tough restrictions at the southern border on asylum and paired it with this app, the numbers dropped precipitously. As a point of comparison, you can look back to December 2023. Nearly 250,000 people crossed the southern border.

[Mohamed]

In that month alone.

[Unnamed Analyst]

In that month alone. And you see from there to the end of December 2024, one year later, we're at 45, 46,000 crossings at the southern border. And on Monday, President Trump shut down this app.

[Mohamed]

Why would President Trump shut down an app that seemed to be accomplishing what President Biden hoped it would do, which is to bring some predictability to asylum seeking and border crossing at the US Mexico border.

[Unnamed Analyst]

President Trump and Republicans, including Stephen Miller, saw this as a another form of illegal immigration. These were people, in their eyes, who had no other lawful way to enter the United States through a visa. And if you look at the numbers since early 2023 to the end of 2024, more than 900,000 people use this app to enter the United States.

[Mohamed]

Huh. So while the numbers may have gone down overall, once this app goes into place, there's still pretty big numbers by.

[Unnamed Analyst]

The end of a year entering the United States. Exactly. Republicans felt like, when you're examining the number of arrests at the southern border every month, you need to add that total of people who are entering using this app, add that to the total of arrests as well at the southern border to get a better picture of what's happening at the border.

[Mohamed]

So, essentially, Trump, Stephen Miller, those around them would say that this app was a half measure, an unsuccessful solution to the problem of border crossings, and it.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Was facilitating illegal immigration.

[Mohamed]

So what happened once Trump ordered that the app be shut down?

[Unnamed Analyst]

We saw pretty immediately people on the ground in Mexico processing this news, talking to our colleagues, saying they had this appointment, they'd been waiting for it for a long time, and they had no idea what was going to come next, what was going to happen to their cases, their ability to enter the United States. And according to a former Department of Homeland Security official who I spoke with, as of Monday morning, around 30,000 people had appointments to enter the country using this app, and those appointments are now canceled.

[Mohamed]

Is it right to think that what. What Trump accomplishes with this executive order that shuts down this app is he's effectively shutting down asylum?

[Unnamed Analyst]

Well, there's another order that handles asylum in the southern border. What Trump does in this separate order is to immediately say that there's an invasion at our border, and no longer can we allow people to cross into this country illegally and claim asylum and remain indefinitely. What Trump's saying here is we're going to take the deterrence approach. We're going to tell you, no longer can you enter our country illegally and have a chance to stay.

[Mohamed]

So, basically, Trump is taking away the route Biden had created to apply for asylum without crossing into the country. And with this order, he's saying because of a surge of asylum seekers, what he calls an invasion, we're not replacing that with anything. Asylum, in effect, is over.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Exactly.

[Mohamed]

And how should we think about the underlying logic of that? I think we've all come to understand that asylum, as originally conceived, is this concept that you are living in a place where life has become intolerably dangerous. Perhaps you're on a government enemies list, perhaps gangs are threatening you or someone in your family, and at any moment, it feels like your life may end. That's been a traditional way of understanding why someone would apply for asylum. And over the past eight years, it's Felt like many coming to the United States seeking asylum are coming because their economic circumstances in their home countries are intolerable. And the system has been overwhelmed by a kind of broader understanding of why someone's seeking asylum. Is that essentially what the Trump people are saying is that the current system has encouraged too many people to invoke asylum, and as a result, the entire system has become indefensible.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Yeah, exactly. In the order itself, it details how our border system is not equipped to process people, to analyze their backgrounds, any potential criminal history that they have, and our current system just does not work. And to be fair, there is some bipartisan understanding of that. I mean, Democrats have, by and large come to that conclusion as well. The Biden administration echoed a lot of these talking points of how the asylum system as it is currently at the southern border is just not operable. But they offer these other pathways, like the app.

[Mohamed]

Right. They still defended it in principle. Trump is saying, don't even bother doing that. The system just needs to end.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Yeah, the system needs to end. And also, it's important to realize that and to note here that in federal law, there is a provision that says that no matter the way somebody enters the United States, they are able to claim asylum. So this is something that advocates, the ACLU and others will point to when they inevitably sue. The Trump administration is they'll say, this isn't a law. People have the ability to claim asylum whatever way they enter the country. What Trump is saying is that it's worth trying to shut down our southern border to stop this really high flow of people entering the country, what he terms as an invasion, millions of people coming into the country in recent years. And he's looking with his other executive orders for a way to close the door on other pathways for immigrants who are seeking refuge in this country, closing those doors one by one.

[Hamid Ali Aziz]

We'll be right back.

[Mohamed]

The New York Times app has all this stuff that you may not have seen.

[Alexa Weibel]

The way the tabs are at the.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Top with all of the different sections.

[Mohamed]

I can immediately navigate to something that.

[Hamid Ali Aziz]

Matches what I'm feeling.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Click portal or Connections and then swipe.

[Unnamed Advertiser]

Over to read today's headlines. There's an article next to a recipe.

[Mohamed]

Next to games, and it's just easy to get everything in one place.

[Unnamed Analyst]

This app is essential. The New York Times app, all of the Times, all in one place.

[Unnamed Advertiser]

Download it [e-mail] App Hamid.

[Mohamed]

We've been talking about asylum and President Trump's plans to shut that down in multiple ways. How else Is he using these early executive orders to stop foreigners from trying to enter the United States?

[Unnamed Analyst]

Yeah. President Trump has directed the DHS secretary to immediately shut down a Biden era program that allowed immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to fly into the country through something called humanitarian parole.

[Mohamed]

And just explain what humanitarian parole is and how it fits into Biden's approach to immigration.

[Unnamed Analyst]

President Biden saw this as a way to allow people a different way to enter the country and to avoid taking this long journey through Mexico, entering the country illegally, putting their lives in the hands of smugglers.

[Mohamed]

So kind of like the app.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Exactly. And at that time in 2023, the Biden administration was struggling mightily with crossings from migrants from these countries. So they wanted to give these migrants a different way to enter the country and to avoid crossing illegally. They thought this would be a solution to that problem.

[Mohamed]

Basically, the thinking was, if they're going to come anyway, let's create a more legal ish path for them.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Exactly. And I think that there's almost a political element involved with this program, which is to say to the American public, don't worry, when this person enters the United States, they have a financial sponsor that's going to take care of them. They won't be living off the state. This is a program that makes sense, and they saw it as a solution that was working.

[Mohamed]

How many people used it?

[Unnamed Analyst]

More than 500,000 in two years use this program.

[Mohamed]

Hmm. Which is a lot of people. So in Biden's mind, this recognizes a problem at the border, finds a way to deal with it. I'm going to guess that to Trump, 500,000 people coming from those countries is perhaps 500,000 too many.

[Unnamed Analyst]

They saw this as a way for the government to allow people who had no other route to the United States to fly into the country and to remain as long as they wanted. And so I think this speaks to a lack of communication from the Biden administration, from President Biden, explaining his approach. He was never able to do that in a really succinct way. And other people filled that vacuum. Conservative figures were saying that the US Government was sponsoring people to fly into the United States to come into your cities, and this just was not true.

[Mohamed]

Got it.

[Unnamed Analyst]

And so far, we've talked about Biden era programs that President Trump has shut down, but he also moved to close off other programs that preceded President Biden and that were supported on a bipartisan basis.

[Mohamed]

What's an example of an executive order that did that?

[Unnamed Analyst]

President Trump decided to pause, suspend our refugee admissions program. As of next Monday, January 27th, the program will be shut down. And in the next 90 days, the Department of Homeland Security will have to deliver a report to President Trump in which they say whether or not it's necessary for President Trump to bring back the refugee program and whether that's in the national interest of the United States.

[Mohamed]

Can you just distinguish, for those of us who maybe pretend we know, but really don't, the distinction between someone seeking asylum and a refugee?

[Unnamed Analyst]

Yeah. A refugee is applying for entry into the United States from abroad. They are oftentimes in a third country in a refugee camp. They've gone to the United nations, and they've said, I'm a refugee. That kickstarts a process that can take upwards of two years, where they're vetted by the United States, they go through all kinds of health and security checks, and they're waiting for a long time to enter the country. But if they do, at that point, they get a pathway to U.S. citizenship. For all intents and purposes, it's a legal pathway. It's legal immigration to the United States.

[Mohamed]

So this is quite different from someone coming into the US and seeking asylum. How many refugees has the US Let.

[Unnamed Analyst]

In over the past few years under the Biden administration? It took them four years to rebuild the refugee system that President Trump dismantled his first time in office. By the end of the Biden administration last year, they had allowed around 100,000 refugees. This is the highest total in 30 years.

[Mohamed]

Wow.

[Unnamed Analyst]

And this isn't something that's, you know, historically Democrat or Republican. If you look back to President Bush before he handed over the White House with President Obama, he allowed in over 60,000 refugees. This is a bipartisan, supported program. But for Trump, it represents a potential security threat. And the way he's talked about it is, you know, these are immigrants from areas like the Middle East, Syria, and other places, Sudan, who could potentially be a threat to the United States. I mean, these are talking points that he comes back to repeatedly. And in the order itself, President Trump cites the fact that our country is taking too many immigrants and we're not equipped to take more immigrants, including refugees. This is not the time for cities like Denver, New York, and other places to take immigrants, even if they're refugees.

[Mohamed]

So far, we're talking about executive actions designed to keep people from coming to the US but, of course, the order that has probably gotten the most attention so far, it does something different. It affects those already inside the United States.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Yeah. The birthright citizenship executive action by President Trump was far more sweeping. Than I expected. Than we expected.

[Mohamed]

How so?

[Unnamed Analyst]

The way it works right now is when you are born in the United States, you automatically get U.S. citizenship.

[Mohamed]

Birthright citizenship.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Exactly. This is the way we've long understood US citizenship in the United States. We look to the 14th amendment, which ensures this right. But President Trump is completely changing that. He's making it so if your mother was here in the country unlawfully or was here with a temporary visa and your father did not have U.S. citizenship or a green card, no longer can you be considered a U.S. citizen.

[Mohamed]

Right. A pretty bold thing to do, given that it's in the Constitution.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Exactly. And President Trump and some Republicans saw this as an incentive for immigrants to enter the country unlawfully and be able to have their children get U.S. citizenship. And this is something that they believe no longer should be a thing in the United States.

[Mohamed]

So the motivation behind this is to take away birthright citizenship as a deterrence, because it has been, in Trump's mind, a lure, a draw for people to come here, have a child in the United States that becomes a citizen. Taking it away would take away that incentive.

[Unnamed Analyst]

If you look at all these orders together, it's a lot of deterrence, a lot of making people uncomfortable, or here in the United States, unlawfully or temporarily. And this is just another way to do that.

[Mohamed]

Of all Trump's executive orders, this one would seem like it has the steepest legal hill to climb. And perhaps deterrence is so primarily the goal that he doesn't mind if it gets legally challenged. But we should assume that this is going to be legally challenged and that it might successfully be legally challenged. Perhaps alongside many of these executive orders.

[Unnamed Analyst]

This is the one that so far has inspired the most lawsuits of all the executive orders so far.

[Mohamed]

Lawsuits.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Already we've seen several lawsuits. States across the country on Tuesday, including New York cities like San Francisco, have filed lawsuits over this executive action. So they're already being inundated with legal challenges. The question is, what happens when this inevitably gets to the Supreme Court?

[Mohamed]

Hmm.

[Unnamed Analyst]

It is kind of hard to get over the fact that it is in the US Constitution and is something that most people have recognized as a fact, as just the way of the way things work in the United States?

[Mohamed]

I want to put all these orders together and think about the collective impact taking away this app that gave people appointments to seek asylum, ending, essentially, asylum itself, ending the refugee program, ending the humanitarian parole program, and birthright citizenship. And that, of course, is on top of Trump's promise to undertake mass deportations in the coming days and weeks, as you're hinting at, it's hard to imagine a stronger message to anyone seeking to come to the United States that it's essentially pointless and futile and you shouldn't do it. And we're going to make, in your words, the experience very uncomfortable. And what's clear is that poll after, after poll shows that Americans believe the country has been allowing too many migrants into the country. And Trump now has a mandate to do something about it. He has been calling this a revolution of common sense for many Americans. Many of these orders might look like just that because Biden seemed to be taking smaller, half measure versions of the same actions.

[Unnamed Analyst]

President Trump clearly feels emboldened to take aggressive action and crack down on our immigration system. Oftentimes, when you speak to voters across the country, this comes up almost every time, every single time. People see this immigration system as in chaos, and they want some tightening, some control. And what Trump is saying is this is the time to do that. This is the time to shut it down in many ways. But the question is, will that work? Right. This is going to be a real test of whether or not deterrence works. What the Biden folks saw was if we incentivize people to take legal pathways, come through the app, come through humanitarian parole or through the refugee system, then we'll incentivize people not to cross illegally.

[Mohamed]

And the numbers did, after reaching record levels, come down.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Exactly.

[Mohamed]

You're saying the question is, if you start to foreclose the legal pathways, are you actually incentivizing, perhaps unintentionally, a return to higher levels of illegal and more dangerous crossings?

[Unnamed Analyst]

It'll be a question of whether or not this communication of mass deportations, of no more birthright citizenship, of closing down asylum and shutting down our borders, whether or not that will inspire people to go back to their home countries, stay in Mexico, or whether they'll be incentivized to cross the country and try to come into the United States undetected and avoid any law enforcement noticing them.

[Mohamed]

Right. And it will be some time before we have an answer to that. But beyond the question of whether or not the numbers go up or down in the next couple of weeks, what Trump is doing here would seem to fundamentally change the United States relationship with those seeking to come here. And I'm remembering a conversation that I had with one of our colleagues, Julie Davis, during Trump's first term about this same set of questions. And the formulation she came up with is that when it comes to immigration, Biden and Democrats, many of them in this moment see it as a question of what immigrants bring to the United States and the United States role as a refuge. Trump and many Republicans in this moment see it very differently as a question of what immigrants take from the United States and the damage that they are causing to it and to its citizens.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Exactly. It's almost like the story that Americans and America has told itself is that we're a place of refuge. We're a place that takes in people who are fleeing these really dangerous conditions. And Trump is seeking to remake that idea and say it's time for Americans to think about themselves. And if we don't have a border, like he said repeatedly, we don't have a country. And what we now know is that tens of millions of Americans agree with that idea.

[Mohamed]

Mohamed, thank you very much.

[Hamid Ali Aziz]

We appreciate it.

[Unnamed Analyst]

Thank you for having me.

[Hamid Ali Aziz]

As of Tuesday night, attorneys general from 22 states had sued President Trump in federal court in an effort to block his executive order ending birthright citizenship. In the lawsuits, the officials called the order, quote, extraordinary and extreme.

[Bishop Marianne Edgar Buddy]

Meanwhile, I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away and that you help those who refer fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.

[Hamid Ali Aziz]

During a church service at the National Cathedral attended by Trump and his vice president, J.D. vance, Bishop Marianne Edgar Buddy, the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, appealed directly to Trump to show mercy on immigrants.

[Bishop Marianne Edgar Buddy]

Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.

[Hamid Ali Aziz]

Trump repeatedly grimaced as she spoke and after returning to the White House from the cathedral, criticized the bishop, saying, quote, I didn't think it was a good service. We'll be right back.

[Unnamed Advertiser]

Hi, it's Alexa Weibel from New York Times Cooking. We've got tons of easy weeknight recipes and today I'm making my five ingredient creamy miso pasta. You just take your starchy pasta water, whisk it together with a little bit of miso and butter until it's creamy, add your noodles and a little bit of cheese. It's like a grown up box of Mac and cheese that feels like a restaurant quality dish. New York Times Cooking has you covered with easy dishes for busy weeknights. You can find [e-mail].

[Hamid Ali Aziz]

Here'S what else you need to know. Day On Tuesday, several of those sentenced to the longest prison terms for their role in the January 6th assault on the US Capitol were released because of President Trump's blanket pardons and commutations. Among those set free were Stuart Rose of the Oath Keepers militia, who was serving 18 years for seditious conspiracy, and Joseph Biggs of the Proud Boys, who was serving 17 years for the same charge. In Congress, lawmakers who had run for their lives to escape the rioters in 2020 were split in their reactions to Trump's pardons. Democratic leaders condemned them as a brazen act of lawlessness, while Republican leaders largely avoided the topic. Today's episode was produced by Carlos Prieto and Michael Simon Johnson. It was edited edited by Paige Cowett and Maria Byrne, contains original music by Dan Powell and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsberg of Wonderly. That's it for the Daily I'm Michael Bavaro. See you tomorrow.

[Alexa Weibel]

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