The NPR Politics Podcast

Episode: "Year In Review: Trump's Immigration Policy"

Date: December 29, 2025
Hosts/Reporters: Ashley Lopez, Jimena Bustio, Deepa Shivaram

Episode Overview

This episode of The NPR Politics Podcast offers a comprehensive review of President Trump’s immigration policy during his first year back in office (2025). The discussion examines the administration’s efforts toward mass deportation, militarized enforcement tactics, changes to legal immigration pathways, the role of executive power, Congressional dynamics, and how these evolving policies are received by both politicians and the public.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Assessing Success on Mass Deportation Promises

• Trump's Campaign Promise: President Trump pledged to launch "the largest mass deportation of immigrants in US History."
• First-Year Results:
  • Jimena Bustio: “Data released from the Department of Homeland Security this fall shows that they have deported 605,000 people. That is short of the 1 million a year goal that Trump did campaign on. However, the number is most definitely not nothing.” (00:52)
  • For context, Trump deported 1.5 million people in his first administration (2017-2021).

2. How Enforcement Has Been Carried Out

• Militarized Approach & Public Displays:

  • Visible, intense, almost "cinematic" actions with clashes involving protesters and ICE.
  • Jimena Bustio: "The administration has admitted that it has deported, you know, individuals by mistake. Some of them have been brought back because of that mistake." (02:31)

• Clamping Down on Legal Pathways:

  • Abruptly ended programs from previous admin, “delegalizing” 1.6 million people.
  • Reports of “major due process violations,” including mistaken deportations.

• Operations Beyond the Spotlight:

  • Many enforcement actions aren't publicly visible—e.g., revoking various visa categories, increasing fees, and targeting specific demographics.
  • Deepa Shivaram: “There are these big displays you might see on cable news … but there’s a lot of other things that this administration has been doing, often very silently.” (03:05)
  • Visa revocations: Over 85,000 from all categories, including more than 8,000 student visas—“more than double the number of the year before.” (04:00)

3. Executive Power & Congressional Dynamics

• Executive Leeway:
  • Immigration enforcement is largely under executive control, with many states/localities deferring to the federal government.
  • Jimena Bustio: “The executive branch has purview over the enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws. It has always been that way.” (04:49)
• Congressional Action:
  • Congress, especially with Republican control, has mostly endorsed these actions—allocating funds for more officers and expanding detention, but not pursuing reform.
  • Jimena Bustio: “They approved tens of billions of dollars to hire more immigration officers… which is in line with what the president wants.” (04:49)

4. The White House Perspective

• Political Strategy and Focus:

  • Immigration remains one of Trump’s signature issues—used to pivot conversation and energize his base.
  • Deepa Shivaram: “This is just to be honest, one of Trump's favorite issues. He's been talking about immigration, making immigration policy one of his biggest focuses since he first ran for President like what, ten years ago now?” (05:55)
  • Executive action now substitutes for comprehensive legislative reform, a sharp contrast with the previous administration's approach.

• Whole-of-Government Stakes:

  • Nearly all federal agencies have been tapped, from the Justice Department (immigration courts), State Department (visas), Health and Human Services (refugees/unaccompanied minors), to even the Department of Agriculture (migrant labor).
  • Jimena Bustio: “I think that there really has just been—name your agency. And they have probably at one point had some sort of enforcement or reaction to what this president is doing or wants them to do.” (07:33)

5. Prospects for Immigration Reform

• Legislative Inaction:

  • No significant appetite exists in Congress to address comprehensive reform or legal status changes.
  • Jimena Bustio: “There is no appetite on the Hill to move a broader immigration bill forward.” (10:07)
  • Some intra-party disagreements exist, but none strong enough to budge the needle on legislation.

• Congressional Deference and Institutional Consequences:

  • Deepa Shivaram: “That lack of movement from Congress … just kind of underlines that, like, erosion of Congress's role in the three branches of government here.” (11:03)
  • Congress’s inaction has essentially ceded more policymaking power to the executive branch.

6. Politics, Perception, and the Public

• A Complicated Political Picture:
  • While hardline policies are popular with the Republican base, polls show broader public dissatisfaction.
  • Ashley Lopez: “Polling has suggested that overall, Americans are not happy with the administration's immigration policies and actions.” (11:51)
• Meaning of "Perception":
  • Actual enforcement happens out of public view now (e.g., fewer border scenes), so attitudes may be shaped more by “perception” than by visible evidence.
  • Deepa Shivaram: “To me, it sort of feels like immigration is becoming almost like the way we talk about the economy in elections where, like, people just feel about it as a certain way depending on who the president is.” (12:04)
• Visibility Shift:
  • Under Biden, border crossings were more visible (towns accommodating new arrivals, governors sending busloads of migrants).
  • Under Trump, enforcement “is in the interior of the country … unless you are physically seeing it or you see it on your social media, you're not seeing the 600,000 people being loaded on planes, being removed from the country.” (13:17, Jimena Bustio)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"Data released from the Department of Homeland Security this fall shows that they have deported 605,000 people. That is short of the 1 million a year goal that Trump did campaign on. However, the number is most definitely not nothing." — Jimena Bustio (00:52)

"There's a lot of other things that this administration has been doing, often very silently, and I think about things like … increasing fees for H1B visa holders … cutting off refugee admissions, except for white South Africans … limiting the number of student visas for Chinese students in particular." — Deepa Shivaram (03:05)

“The administration has admitted that it has deported, you know, individuals by mistake. Some of them have been brought back because of that mistake.” — Jimena Bustio (02:31)

"This is just to be honest, one of Trump's favorite issues. ...if the economy isn't doing really great or the jobs report isn't really good, you might see them, you know, Trump even truthing about immigrants ... it's his way of trying to pivot and reclaim the news cycle." — Deepa Shivaram (05:55)

"This is the definition of a whole of government approach on a policy. ...I think that there really has just been—name your agency. And they have probably at one point had some sort of enforcement or reaction to what this president is doing or wants them to do." — Jimena Bustio (07:33)

"That lack of movement from Congress … just kind of underlines that, like, erosion of Congress's role in the three branches of government here." — Deepa Shivaram (11:03)

"Perception is such a key word here for how this issue gets treated honestly, in any presidency." — Deepa Shivaram (14:42)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Major Promise:
  Discussion of Trump's mass deportation pledge and first-year numbers (00:30–01:30)
• How Enforcement Has Played Out:
  Tactics, legal vs illegal, mistakes, civil rights implications (01:36–03:05)
• Silent Policy Changes:
  Hidden levers like visa revocations, fee hikes, selective admissions (03:05–04:34)
• Executive Power and Congressional Attitudes:
  The president’s unilateral ability; Congress’s inaction (04:34–05:55)
• Why Immigration is the Focus:
  The White House’s strategic use of immigration as a political tool (05:55–07:33)
• Whole-of-Government Effects:
  Multiple agencies’ roles in enforcement (07:33–08:26)
• Legislative & Reform Prospects:
  Prospects for comprehensive immigration reform (09:52–11:45)
• Politics & Public Perception:
  Disconnect between policy, polling, and what’s visible to the public (11:51–14:57)

Conclusion

Through illuminating data and sharp analysis, the NPR Politics team underscores that while Trump’s deportation numbers haven’t reached his campaign promises, his administration has transformed nearly every aspect of the immigration system using executive power. With Congress ceding most initiative and public awareness shaped largely by perception rather than visibility, Trump’s immigration policies remain a defining—and deeply contested—feature of his second term.

Hosts: Ashley Lopez, Jimena Bustio, Deepa Shivaram
Approximate Episode Runtime: 15 minutes