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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | September 27th, 2025: Trump Shocks World on Ukraine & Immigration Milestone
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- [00:01]
Dana
Recently we asked some people about sharing.
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Mike Baker
Their New York Times accounts.
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Dana
My name is Dana.
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Mike Baker
I am a subscriber to the New York Times, but my husband isn't and.
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Art Arthur
It would be really nice to be.
- [00:10]
Dana
Able to share a recipe or an article or compete with him in wordle or connections.
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Mike Baker
Thank you Dana. We heard you introducing the New York Times Family Subscription one subscription, up to.
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Dana
Four separate logins for anyone in your life.
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Mike Baker
Find out more@nytimes.com family.
- [00:31]
Dana
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- [01:13]
Mike Baker
Welcome to the PDP Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, President Trump shocked the world this week, appearing to do a complete U turn on the war in Ukraine, declaring that the country could recover all the territory it's lost. Then he added in and then some perhaps former commanding general of U. S. Army Europe, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges stops by to give his thoughts on the reversal. Later in the show, the Trump administration celebrating a milestone and their crackdown on illegal immigration, reporting that over 2 million illegal aliens have been removed or self deported in 250 days. Resident fellow for Law and policy at the center for Immigration Studies, Art Arthur joins us to dig into those details. But first, today's Situation Report Spotlight. President Trump has made a surprising reversal on the war in Ukraine. After months of calling for negotiations and questioning US Support, the president now says he believes Ukraine can reclaim every inch of territory lost to Russia, or at least that it's possible. In a truth social post, he declared that Ukraine, backed by the European Union is, quote, in a position to fight and win. And he and he wrote win in all capitals, all of Ukraine back in its original form. Trump also ridiculed Russia's military, saying the war should have taken a real military power less than a week to win and calling Moscow a paper tiger. Joining us to break it all down is retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. army Europe. Sir, thanks again very much for coming back on the Situation report.
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Ben Hodges
Mike, thanks for the privilege.
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Mike Baker
Let's start with with the Big news of the week. President Trump's apparent turnaround on Ukraine. What do you make of that?
- [03:07]
Ben Hodges
Unfortunately, the initial excitement has already worn off for a couple of reasons. Number one, in less than 24 hours, both Secretary Rubio and Secretary gave indications that this is not going to be a major policy shift that they really are. I hate to say it, but I think they're trying to wash their hands of the whole Ukraine thing. And when the President said that, you know, that Ukraine was doing great and they could win with support from the eu, that's an important distinction. He didn't say from NATO, he said from the eu, of course, which does not include the United States. And when he, when he talks about Russia being a paper tiger, I would support that, by the way. But that also is another way of Camel saying that. So we don't need to be here anymore. We have other things to focus on that. I could be reading too much into it, but I haven't seen or felt or heard anything beyond the President's statement that tells me that this is a real policy shift.
- [04:17]
Mike Baker
Yeah, that is a very interesting interpretation, sir, because, of course, in the aftermath, and still to this day, there's. There seems to be a great deal of excitement, at least being reported coming out of Ukraine over the President's announcements. It's, it's interesting because he, the way he phrased it, that they could win back all the territory, and then I think he threw in a line and then some or something to that effect. Is that, is that in the realm of the possible? Is it realistic?
- [04:56]
Ben Hodges
I have always believed that Ukraine can get back all of its territory if we, the United States and our allies, made that the strategic objective. I mean, my goodness, just the countries of Europe combined dwarfs whatever Russia has. So it's not like we don't have the ability to do it. It's all about committing to that as an objective. The Biden administration never did it, and the Trump administration, both, one or two, have never stated clearly that that's our objective. Ukraine has stopped Russia after 11 years of war, with Russia having every advantage. And Russia is never going to be able to defeat Ukraine unless we just totally turn our back. So I think if we made it our objective, it would absolutely happen that Ukraine could do that. And that's. It's in our interest that they do that. What, what happens in Ukraine affects us because it affects the security and stability and prosperity of Europe, our biggest trading partner. And it also sends a message to China that we have the political will and the ability to Stop Russia right now. I think China is not too impressed. Yeah, yeah.
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Mike Baker
China, I mean, again, I think is always, you can always count on them to do whatever is specifically in their best interests. So they're always looking at these relationships, particularly the relationship with Russia. I think from that perspective, it's, we sometimes read too much into their, their bromance or, oh, my God, it's a no limits partnership. I personally don't believe that that's how Xi Jinping thinks. If we stick with, with President Trump's comments to the UN what do you make of his, his comment about NATO, about the US Will continue to supply weapons to NATO. We, they can do with them what they will. Is, is, is that of interest or is that just. Well, you know, we, we're going to sell them weapons anyway.
- [06:55]
Ben Hodges
Of course, what he said was allies can buy weapons from us and then they can give them to Ukraine. I mean, that's not exactly Roosevelt or, or Eisenhower or true Romanesque in terms of statesmanlike leadership. It makes us look like it's more of just a weapons transaction instead of something that's in the best interest, strategic interest of the United States. Now, at the end of the day, if it does increase capabilities that are provided to Ukraine, I'm for it. And of course, the United States sells arms to much of the world, especially now after most of the world has seen that what Russia makes turns out to be not that good. So the problem is several European countries are starting to waver or change their mind about are they going to buy US Capabilities, partly in reaction to tariffs, partly in reaction to concern that the U.S. the vendor, might not be able to fulfill all of the obligations for political reasons. So we've seen a couple of countries back away from F35, for example, and Denmark just made a decision to go with a European air defense system instead of American. So I want the United States to be seen as the arsenal of democracy. But it's not just a matter of making weapons systems available. For me, the most important thing is the President laying out our strategic objective. What do we want the world to look like at the end of this conflict in Ukraine? And I think what we want is a Europe that is prosperous, which means it's stable and secure, which means that Russia is living back inside its own boundaries. And for China to realize that the United States will defend sovereignty. Right now, I think the Chinese say we're a little bit flexible on sovereignty.
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Mike Baker
Yeah, I would, I would agree with that as well. They always talk about President Trump as being sort of a transactional guy. Right. So I guess my question is, is there's a lot of room there to speculate or kind of wander around? I suppose it's not a very good question, but does this White House, from your perspective, do they think in, in that sort of strategic term, is it, is it okay, looking down the road five years, 10 years from now, what's in America's best interest? I know they always talk about, you know, America first. That's, that's fine. But I'm wondering whether, you know, again, as with the arms deal, we'll sell weapons to NATO, they can use them. Is, is part of the problem here that the President is more transactional than strategic?
- [09:45]
Ben Hodges
Well, you know, I read excellent interview with the Journal Kellogg just the other day. I think it was done while he was still in Kiev last week. And, you know, this is a guy that understands strategy, what's required. He's not confused about who the Russians are. And so here's a part of the administration that thinks very strategically and also understands the importance of allies. Ambassador Waltz, the President's nominee to be our ambassador to the United nations, former National Security Advisor. He absolutely gets it. He understands the importance of allies and how you have to use power, all the different levers of power. I'm not so clear that the Secretary of State sees it that way or the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Besson, you know, just two days ago, I read what he said about, he goes, you know, the Russians, they may be marching into Warsaw, but they're not marching into Boston. So basically not our problem. That's a remarkable statement for the Secretary of the treasury to say this. I worry that there is. America's isolationist DNA is raising its head to a level that's not good for our long term security.
- [11:09]
Mike Baker
I want to pick up on that. I just have to take a quick break, sir, so don't go anywhere. Stay right where you are, if you don't mind. We'll be right back with more from General Hodges here on the situation report. Stick around. Hey, Mike Baker here. You know those nights when you, you just don't sleep? You know what I mean? You're tossing and turning, your. Your mind's racing and sleep just won't come. And then of course, the next day, well, you're dragging, you're exhausted, and everything just feels harder. That's where cbd from CB Distillery can make a real difference. But it's not just sleep products over at CB Distillery, they've got solutions that work with your body to help with stress, with pain. After exercise, even mood and focus. Now, it's all made with the highest quality clean ingredients. And that's important. No fillers, just premium cbd. Imagine waking up rested or enjoying your day without those nagging aches and pains. That's the real win of CB Distilleries Solutions. And that's why over 2 million people. I said 2 million people trust CB Distillery. Look, I use their relief ball for after workouts because frankly, every workout at my age involves some level of pain, right? And that relief balm really does the job. It works. It's terrific. So give it a go. If you're ready for better sleep, less stress, and just generally feeling better, try CBD from CB Distillery. And right now, you can save 25% off your entire purchase. Give that a go. Visit CB Distillery and use promo code PDB@cbdistillery.com promo code PDB. Again, CBdistillery.com specific product availability depends on individual state regulations.
- [12:47]
Dana
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- [13:45]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the Situation Report. Joining me once again is retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges. He's a former commanding general of US Army Europe. Sir, thank you very much for sticking around. You raised some very interesting points towards the end of the, the, the first segment, and I wanted to pick back up on that when, when we're talking about what's in America's best interest in terms of, of the war in Ukraine, Putin's war in Ukraine. I think you, you, you referenced Secretary Besson and his comments that they look, you know, the Russian military is not marching on Boston. That isolationism, that, that concept of isolationism, and we obviously saw it, it was raging prior to World War II, which was one of the problems that, that FDR had. And at this point, with an administration that, that does consistently beat the drum for America first. And you know, let's take care of problems at home, which is fine, which makes perfect sense. But you have to be able to multitask, right? And nothing happens in a bubble. Are you concerned that there is the possibility that this administration just loses interest?
- [15:10]
Ben Hodges
Look, I think it's the job of the president, of every president to explain to all of us, to speak to all of us as adults. And they say, look, of course my job is number one, to protect America's population, our strategic interests, our infrastructure. That's the job of every president. Of course, whether you call it America first or not. The fact is that's what he has to do. The difference is, how do you do that? I mean, go ask Arkansas soybean farmers right now, clearly America cannot consume all the soybeans that they need because China is who they used to sell to. Now China's not doing it. So we have a problem. The same would be true for almost every other thing that we make in America, except maybe baseball bats. That we have international markets or we depend on other countries for what we need. That's why we have the greatest navy in the world, to make sure that the international waters are safe so that trade can proceed. I think that the America first doesn't mean in America we just focus inward because that's not going to bring prosperity or security to anybody else.
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Mike Baker
I'm surprised that we don't have a carve out and then sort of this old tariff issue for the defense industry.
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Ben Hodges
Well, I think you probably could address that better than I could. But, you know, I mean, there's all the, all the major weapons systems, for example, have supply chains that come with so many different components. The gun on an Abrams tank comes from a German company. So I mean, you can't, when we are so intertwined on so much of what we do, that that might be, it might be feasible in some things. I imagine that would be a little bit difficult to do on others.
- [17:12]
Mike Baker
Yeah, yeah. No, I, I, I should, I should tell our viewers I am not a tariff expert. I know that's going to shock a lot of people, but I just, I throw that out there. Let's switch gears just slightly to talk about the recent incursions. Obviously there were some 19 or 20 drones that made their way into Polish airspace. There have been incursions related to Estonia. We just had another, you know, sortie of Russian aircraft flying in the Alaska Aid this area, the northern defense zone up there. And what do you make of that? Are these, are these just the result of an ongoing war where you're going to have these, these incidents and the Kremlin keeps brushing them off as, yeah, you know, they strayed into space, it wasn't intentional, whatever, or do you think there's something else there?
- [18:10]
Ben Hodges
I think it's something else. First of all, these are operations. I use the word operations instead of incursions because they're planned and they deliberately target areas where they want the drones to go. Or the three Russian fighters that spent 12 minutes in Estonian airspace the other day, the four Russian aircraft you just referenced outside of Alaska. And we had another incident in the last 24 hours near Latvia. 21 drones, that's not an accident. And the Polish air force, Air force was able to figure out that they all came from the same spot close to the Russia's border with Belarus. And so the fact that they launched 21 drones into Poland, knowing that there are almost 10,000American troops that are there, that tells me that the Russians were not too concerned that the US would actually do anything about it, that there would not be a meaningful response. And so I see all of these things. The drones that were operating around five different airports in Denmark over the last few days also, and by the way, the Germans have seized a tanker with a Russian crew that apparently was a drone launching platform. And so these are the things that are going on out there. These get referred to sometimes as gray zone operations because they're below the level of a kinetic strike. So not exactly Article 5, but I think our mentality is wrong. The Russians are clearly at war with us using the full spectrum of capabilities they have, but we are not yet at war with them and we don't think that way. And so as a result, we don't have the urgency to address the weaknesses and gaps. I mean, after watching Ukraine for over three years battling hundreds of drones every night, we clearly were not ready when those 21 drones entered Poland. So we have, we have to fix that.
- [20:13]
Mike Baker
It's interesting, our good friend Gordon Chang, China expert, makes a similar comment about China. He says China's at war with us, with, with the West. We just don't know it. And we don't, and we don't, we don't understand it, and we're certainly not on a war footing, but he says the Chinese regime is on a war footing. How would you describe, if I could ask you this, how would you describe the resolve of the EU when it comes to Ukraine.
- [20:44]
Ben Hodges
So I have seen a significant increase in the resolve of our European allies, both that within a NATO construction or in their own sovereign construct. And now as the eu, I mean the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, she sounds tough and you know, she's talking about shooting down Russian aircraft. The Germany, France and I think UK or maybe it was Poland just told the Russians said, look, we are going to start shooting down your aircraft if you continue to do this. This is a different, it's a different tone and we'll see what happens. And of course the Russians will immediately test that. The Russian ambassador to France yesterday said that if you shoot down an aircraft, that means war. No, it doesn't. But that's, that's the language from the Russian side. And so we just need to be, it's not going to be up to Captain Hodges there to decide whether or not to shoot down a Russian aircraft. It's going to be a policy decision by the leaders and they have to have already thought through to the consequences, possible Russian reactions and to have the messaging, the narrative already established. Otherwise Russia will of course twist the narrative about what happened and how this is. They're defending themselves against all of NATO. So I think we should be a lot more self confident and Russia should worry about what we're going to do. We should quit worrying so much about what they might do.
- [22:21]
Mike Baker
Yeah, it seems like that's been the case ever since this, this started. Right. That we've been, we've been focused on what they might do and we've always been, whether it's this administration or previous administration, they've always kind of held back. And it seems like out of that, out of that concern, at the end of the day, from your perspective, can, can Ukraine have a successful resolution? I'm not sure how you would describe that without US support, but with EU resolve, with EU support.
- [22:58]
Ben Hodges
So of course when you say eu, I always add plus Canada, UK and Norway, because they're not in the eu, so that makes a difference. But the combined economies, defense industries, the wealth of all these nations is about 15 times more than what Russia has. And so if they had the made it their strategic objective, then yes, they want Ukraine to win, which means Russia goes back to the 1991 borders. So Ukraine's sovereignty is re established, then there's no question that they could make that happen. Russia's economy is in deep trouble. And if we can stop Russia's export of oil to China and India and other customers, then they can't keep Going, I mean, that's the key. And almost all of these oil tankers pass through the Baltic Sea, three per day, which is completely controlled by NATO and EU countries, and the Black Sea, also controlled by NATO countries. So this is, this really boils down to political will. It's not like we don't, there's not enough money or there's not enough ammunition. This is all about political will.
- [24:13]
Mike Baker
Do you think the White House has political will, or do you think we're kind of back to earlier part of our conversation where, you know, they, they really haven't explained their strategic objective here?
- [24:24]
Ben Hodges
I believe that President Trump really does want to see an end to the killing. I don't believe that he's willing. I mean, if he can't even say that, you know, we want Ukraine to win or to tell President Putin, get out of Ukraine, pull your troops out, or else I'm going to do these things. The President has enormous leverage he could be using, and he doesn't seem to be willing to do that, even though most of the Congress, the Republican led Congress, supports Ukraine, supports NATO and has a transatlantic, supports transatlantic relationships. So I, I can't explain it. I don't think he's willing to do what needs to be done.
- [25:04]
Mike Baker
Yeah, it is interesting because there's enormous support also on the Democrat side, obviously, for Ukraine, particularly when they felt like Trump was getting squishy on the subject. Then, obviously, for political reasons, they saw a reason to take even a harder stance. But it is, it is interesting, I think, within, within Trump's statements about that have been perceived as a reversal on his position on Ukraine. You know, included in there was, well, I wish them, I wish both countries well. You know, that you can look at that and go, really? You wish both countries well? And then at the end of it, I think during a press conference shortly after, he was asked if he has lost trust in Putin. And he said, well, you know, we'll see in about a month or so. So, I mean, I take your point that I think there was a great deal of excitement over this apparent reversal. But in the aftermath, I see what you mean about, let's be a little bit more measured here to see whether actions actually follow words.
- [26:14]
Ben Hodges
No, there's been months of, in two weeks. In two weeks and two weeks. And I mean to be, of course, the president has more information than I do, access to more intelligence than I do, but I mean, why would he, why would he say, well, we'll see in about a month whether or not I can trust him? I'M I don't quite understand that.
- [26:35]
Mike Baker
Yeah, no, agreed. Well, sir, I want to be mindful of time and as always, we very much appreciate you spending some time with us and all your insight, your experience brought to the table here. So I hope that at some point when we, when we call you back, because you can count on us calling you back, that you'll pick up the phone and say, sure, I'll show back up again on the Situation Report because it is very much appreciated.
- [26:59]
Ben Hodges
Well, you know, I've heard from friends that listen to your program and so when I started seeing who else who's out in your audience, I thought, all right, well this is not only do I personally enjoy the conversation, it's, it's nice to know that you've got that common audience.
- [27:14]
Mike Baker
Yeah. Now we've got, we've got great viewers, great listeners, which we're very appreciative of. But in part it's because, you know, people like you are willing to come on and, and talk about very, very important issues. So, sir, thank you again and I hope to see you very soon. General Ben Hodges, always great to have him on the show. All right, coming up next, DHS reports that over 2 million illegal aliens have been removed or self deported since President Trump took office. President fellow from Law and Policy at the center for Immigration Studies, that would be Art Arthur joins us to dig into those details. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me ask you a question, if I could, about protecting your hard earned assets. And when you hear about inflation worries or when you see that the US national debt is over $37 trillion, we just look around and see all the global uncertainty. Do you ever think to yourself maybe now, maybe now would be a good time to buy some gold? Well, let me tell you, that would be a logical thought because you see whether as a hedge against inflation or peace of mind during global instability or, or just for sensible diversification, gold has always been viewed as a safe haven. And the Birch Gold Group, well, they believe every American should own physical gold. So they've created something special. Listen to this. Until September 30th in the end of the month. And if you're a first time gold buyer, Birch Gold is offering a rebate of up to $10,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases. To claim eligibility and start the process, just request an information kit, text PDP to 989898 plus Birch Gold can help you roll an existing IRA or a 401k into an IRA in gold and you're still eligible for a rebate and free metals of up to $10,000. Find out why tens of thousands of happy customers trust the Birch Gold Group and make right now the time to decide if gold is right for you and take advantage, of course, of a rebate of up to $10,000 when you buy by September 30th. Text PDB to 989-898, claim your eligibility and get your free information kit again. Text PDB to 989-898 mint is still.
- [29:18]
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- [30:04]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. The Trump administration says it has hit a major milestone on immigration enforcement. Over 2 million illegal aliens have left the US since January 20th. Now DHS reports about 1.6 million self deportations and more than 400,000 removals, with officials crediting tougher enforcement under President Trump and Secretary no. A recent UN Study shows attempted illegal crossings are plummeting, plummeting with nearly half of would be migrants abandoning their journey due to fear of detention or deportation, a very dangerous journey, might I also add. Joining me now is the resident Fellow in Law and policy at the center for Immigration Studies. That would be friend of the show, Art Arthur. All right. Thanks very much for being back on THE SITUATION report. Really good to see you.
- [30:54]
Art Arthur
Thanks so much for having me, Mike.
- [30:56]
Mike Baker
Now let's, let's start with the numbers. The numbers that have been reported by the White house upwards of 2 million illegal immigrants, they're saying, out of the country, some from self deportation, some from being picked up and encouraged to leave. How accurate are those numbers from your perspective?
- [31:19]
Art Arthur
So I think that with respect to the 1.6 million self deportations that they're talking about, I actually think that number is a little bit low. We did an analysis six weeks ago based on bureau of labor statistics figures. And we determined that in the middle of August about 1.6 million had left. I estimate that there have probably been about another 200 to 400,000 who have left since then. So I think that the actual number of self deports is closer to 2 million. Now, with respect to the 400,000 deportations, that one I'm having a little bit of trouble, you know, going back and reconfiguring. It's definitely, probably been around 250 to 325,000. They might be counting in some individuals that are what we call turnbacks. Those are people who show up at the border, see border patrol, and turn around and go back. And that would probably make up the difference for the rest. The important takeaway, however, is that the illegal population has dropped by about 2 million, 2 million plus since Donald Trump came back into office. And that's a good thing.
- [32:34]
Mike Baker
Okay.
- [32:35]
Art Arthur
Yeah.
- [32:35]
Mike Baker
And, and do you get the impression that they're accelerating this process or, I mean, where do you, where do you see this going? Say if we had to look a year from now, are we going to be looking at doubling these numbers or what are your perspective on this?
- [32:51]
Art Arthur
So the White House is looking to get to about 600,000 actual physical deportations. And I think that with the large number of people who are self deporting, it's going to be a little bit difficult for them to get to that point simply because a lot of the people they're going to look for have already left. If you're a criminal and if you got a serious crime in the United States, you were doing ICE check ins under the Biden administration, then, you know, you probably can read the writing on the wall and you're going to make yourself scarce if you're under a final order of removal. Again, if you know that, you know, people in your community are, you know, being picked up, being removed, you're going to go. So I think it's going to be tough for them to get to that figure. But the flip side of that is that there are about a thousand what we call 287G agreements that have already been inked. Those are state and local authorities who are, you know, out there actively looking for, you know, people that they pick up, criminals who have immigration holds on them or amenable to removal that they're going to hold for ice. And that's going to be a force multiplier for agents that'll help them, you know, sort of backfill some of those people that felt deport. So I think that about a half million a year is a reasonable number for the Trump administration to come to.
- [34:14]
Mike Baker
Okay, I assume that none of those agreements, those 287G agreements, have been signed with sanctuary cities.
- [34:24]
Art Arthur
No, definitely not. In fact, the best way to think of it 287 agreement is a sanctuary policy times negative one. It's the mirror opposite of that. Because whereas in sanctuaries they safeguard, they physically protect their criminal aliens, in 287 communities, they are actively looking for them. They're going to hold them, they're going to make them available to ICE officers so that they could be deported so they don't end up back on the street. They don't end up harming members of those communities.
- [35:01]
Mike Baker
So how, how impactful can this, this program be if the existing sanctuary cities kind of remain with their current policies? Because it would, it would seem like, look, if I'm a illegal immigrant, you know, particularly if I've been engaged in some sort of nefarious activity, I'm moving to a sanctuary city. Right. That just seems logical. So I'm just wondering, there's, there's going to have to be at some point some kind of come to Jesus meeting with politicians in some of these locations. I would think if the White House wants to realize maximum effect from their policies, there will have to be.
- [35:48]
Art Arthur
And I one of two things are going to happen. Either Congress is going to put some riders on fundings for these sanctuary jurisdictions that say you don't get law enforcement grants or you don't get other federal money if you actively block ICE enforcement, which is the definition of a sanctuary community. Or alternatively, and this is the one I hope it doesn't come to, there will be some sort of black swan event, something along the lines of September 11th that are going to wake up sanctuary communities from their slumber, that they're going to be begin cooperating with ICE because they want to get people off the streets. And you could, you know, see in the ICE press releases the drumbeat of, you know, malefactors that are being dragged out of, you know, big sanctuaries like Boston and Los Angeles. You know, there's some pretty hardened criminals. Even if you don't like immigration enforcement, you don't like Donald Trump's policies. I don't think any of us wants to have a child molester or, you know, in a case that happened in Northern Virginia the other day, a legal migrant who strangles his toddler sister to death with a phone cord, living in the community. We want to get those people Out. And it's interesting because it's almost as if we're living in the same planet in two different worlds, because, you know, on the one hand, you've got, you know, ice. You've got Tom Holman, Donald Trump who were out there, Kristi Noem, talking about, look, we want to pick up criminals. We want to get the criminals off the streets. And then you have Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass, Michelle Wu, various other people, J.B. pritzker, who are talking about, you know, ICE being thugs and Gestapo and, you know, fascists, and they're sweeping it and they're grabbing nannies. If ICE had the ability to go into Boston jails and take out criminal aliens, it'd be too busy going into communities in the Commonwealth to find people. That just wouldn't happen. You wouldn't see these street scenes. So, I mean, hopefully this all resolves itself amicably through money, which is the language of politics. But if it doesn't, I'm afraid something bad's going to happen and it's just going to break that way.
- [38:17]
Mike Baker
Yeah. It seems to me that when we look at this issue, right, that part of the problem is the optic. Now, the narrative has been from the White House, and they've said very, from the very beginning, we're going after the worst of the worst. Right. And, and everybody, I think reasonable people, perhaps, you know, psychotics on the, on the, on the hard, progressive left side would disagree. But I think most reasonable people could say, yeah, that's a good thing. Let's get the criminals off the streets. They're illegal immigrant criminals. That makes sense. Then you get media coverage of an ICE raid on a Home Depot. Right. That's a different story. I'm not saying that those, the people that, that they're picking up aren't illegal immigrants, you know, but I'm saying that the optic now changes. And for a lot of people watching that, I think. Well, hold on a second. You said you were going after the worst of the worst. It looks like you're going after people who are, you know, try to be employed and, you know, maybe paying taxes. You can see how that becomes an easy narrative for the other side.
- [39:24]
Art Arthur
Yeah, absolutely. Which is why it's good to, to take a look at what they are really doing. There was Supreme Court case that came down a couple of weeks ago that talked about ICE enforcement in Los Angeles and what they could and couldn't consider when they did what we call a Terry stop just short of an arrest, where they halt somebody, they don't let Them leave, but they're not actually being arrested. They're just being questioned. And one of the things that came out in the court documents around that is that during the scenes we saw to Los Angeles about six, eight weeks ago, where there were riots in the streets and protests and people burning things, you know, complaining about exactly the sort of enforcement you're talking about. During that period of time, ICE only arrested 2,000, just over 2,000 people in a city that has 2 million illegal aliens in it. And most of those arrests were actually triggered by ICE knowing that there was a specific individual, specific criminal that they wanted to pick up. They go into the area, they find that person, he's standing around with a lot of other people. And while they're there, they'll start to ask those people what their status is, too. That's smart policing. It's something that ICE has done and that, you know, INS did when I started 33 years ago in this field. It's a very common thing. But, you know, ICE doesn't explain to passersby or, you know, onlookers or the press, you know, in real time. Oh, yeah, we're looking for, you know, Art Arthur. He's a guy who was a known drug trafficker, and we know that he's here. They simply go in, they pick the people up, and then they leave it to the fabulous and the media to, you know, paint this scene however they want. That's a huge part of the issue. Nothing that they're doing right now is anything that, you know, ICE didn't do under, you know, the early years of Obama that they didn't do under George W. Bush or Bill Clinton. None of that has changed. The only thing that's changed is that now we have people who think that they can interpose themselves into a police stop anytime that they see one, whenever they think the dice is involved, and that they can pull out their cell phones and flip off the agents and hurl epithets at them. And, I mean, honestly, they're simply being egged on by demagogues, many of them in political office, but not exclusively, you know, who are spitting this narrative to their own political advantage. It's, you know, honestly, from my experience, you know, given everything that I know about how this works, it sickens to be to my stomach. But it's the world that we live in.
- [42:13]
Mike Baker
Yeah.
- [42:13]
Art Arthur
I can't believe that you might be.
- [42:14]
Mike Baker
Implying that Gavin Newsom is doing something for political advantage. That's shocking to me. So listen, Art, if you could stay right where you are. Got A lot more questions here, but we need to take a quick break and then we'll be right back with Art Arthur, resident Fellow in Law and Policy at the center for Immigration Studies here on the situation report. Stick around. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment of your time to talk about your personal finances. That's important right now. The Fed has finally dropped interest rates. You probably heard about that and that's great news for American homeowners. After all, expenses have been a major burden on families. Of course wages are flat, prices keep climbing, and for many, the only way to make ends meet has been to lean on credit cards. But that cycle of high interest debt, well, it makes it hard to stay ahead. If you're a homeowner, I want you to call my friends over at American Financing. With credit cards charging rates around 20% or even higher, you should look at the potential to use your home equity to save money. There's an easy bath to see how you can finally put your hard earned equity to work for you. American Financing can help you pay off that expensive debt, free up your cash flow and keep your budget under control. Their salary based mortgage consultants are saving customers an average of $800 a month and if you get started today, well, you may be able to delay your next mortgage payment. Take control. Call American Financing today. The number 866-885-1881. Again, that's 8668851881 or just visit americanfinancing.net.
- [43:49]
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- [44:24]
Art Arthur
And bring the boom.
- [44:26]
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- [44:52]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. Let me bring back My guest, Arthur, he's the Resident Fellow for Law and Policy at the center for Immigration Studies. Art, thanks very much for sticking around. Let's switch just slightly. In talking about immigration and immigration policies, let's talk about this that you touched on towards the end of the first segment. The violence that we're seeing, the uptick in attacks on ICE personnel. Talk to me about that. Go any direction you want to, but I want to explore this.
- [45:24]
Art Arthur
So one of the things that, you know, that we've seen come out of DHS and they actually do keep track of this, is that the number of assaults on both ICE and CBP officers has increased 1000% since last year. Now, nothing's. The only thing that's changed is that we have increased enforcement during that period of time. But the other thing that's changed is the rhetoric that we see out of a lot of people who are vilifying immigration enforcement for their own gains. It's interesting because there was a poll that had been done by the Washington Post and Ipsos that came out last week that, you know, showed that support for Donald Trump's immigration enforcement scheme had fallen since he took office and since I started, you know, carrying out some of these operations. That's natural. Immigration enforcement is tough. Law enforcement is tough. If you ever see it. It's one of those things that people support. They like the sausage. They just don't really necessarily like the process by which the sausage is being made. But another interesting question that was asked in that poll was do you think that people who have been deported, you know, deserve to be deported or didn't deserve to be deported? And a majority of the people concluded that the people who have been deported deserve to be deported. They also showed, I think it was by a 13 point margin that registered voters have more trust in Republicans when it comes to immigration than they do in Democrats. So I think that, you know, Donald Trump, you know, has any number of vulnerabilities, but immigration enforcement has long been one of his, you know, biggest positive factors. And so I think that his political opponents are attempting to undermine him by proxy by going after the officers who, you know, aren't political, who were carrying out that duty. And, you know, we saw the shooting in Dallas and that, you know, followed one in Alvarado, Texas, on the 4th of July in which a group of respectfully losers got together to attack an ICE detention facility down in Alvarado, Texas, and in, you know, which bullets were fired. This is getting out of control. Someone is going to get hurt. And I've been saying this, you know, since April when we started to see these events tick up. I mean, they're now reaching a drumbeat, a fever pitch, whatever you want to talk about, in which, you know, there will be significant bloodshed. We had three migrants shot, one killed in the Dallas incident. And it's just a matter of time before some agent dies in the line of duty.
- [48:21]
Mike Baker
Right. Well, I think there's, there's no doubt. You can't vilify one side as, as Nazis, as storm troopers, as, as some on the, on the left have. Politicians, I'm talking about, who have a, I think have to meet a higher standard in terms of their rhetoric and, and their, their public comments. You can't do that and then not expect that some, you know, psychos or, or some losers, however you want to describe them out there, won't process that information, you know, the way that sort of a normal person would. Right. And that's, that's where we always, you know, assume, oh, it's just words. I get it. Words. Words aren't violence. I've never, I always thought that's one of the stupidest things. Words are violence. It's ridiculous. But we have to understand that there are people out there who, who don't process things in a normal behavior pattern. So I, I think that part of it is probably not going to change. I don't, I don't imagine we live in a world where people are actually going to dial back the rhetoric. I don't see that happening anytime soon. So what is, what is the answer? Because it seems to me like the, the White House is going to continue this path. Right. I think they believe that this is, as you pointed out, this is a winning issue. It's the thing to do. It's the right thing to do. And it also resonates with voters. The Democrats themselves have realized they've got, they've got some problems. They're on the wrong side of certain issues, and immigration is certainly one of them. I think crime, probably trans rights. They're trying to recalibrate their positions there to win back voters, and immigration is probably at the top of that list. But what is the answer here? If the rhetoric doesn't get dialed back, they don't turn down the temperature, the White House continues, you know, on this policy. Where does all this go?
- [50:10]
Art Arthur
This theme that they're pushing fits right in with, you know, a Hegelian dialecticalism that, you know, we've seen, or dialectic that we've seen, you know, being pushed. The oppressor and the oppressed, in this instance, the people who come to the United States illegally, criminal aliens are in, you know, this tale, the oppressed and the oppressors are the masked ICE agents. And the more that ICE does, you know, that ICE officers actually do to protect themselves, the more that this narrative gets ramped up. We saw Gavin Newsom sign a bill in California, you know, barring officers from wearing masks. Well, You've studied Constitutional Law 1 in law school. You've read a case called McCullough vs. Maryland. And you know that a state can't pass a law that is going to burden federal, the federal government in enforcing a federal law, which is exactly what this does. What this is going to do is take the masks off of, you know, Los Angeles SWAT officers and make it easier for bad people to dox them. It's not going to make any difference, really. I mean, there needs to be some accountability. But in our Democratic or constitutional republic Republican system, that comes from the voters. And we don't have an election coming up for a while now. We may see indications in the upcoming election in New Jersey and in Virginia, both of those races, Democrats are favored to win governorships. But, you know, if we see that change, I think it's going to be a wake up call for many Democratic officials who think that they can, you know, say whatever they want and do whatever they want and that they're going to get away with it because they're on the right side of history or because they have the media behind them. Same, same. But, you know, it's. So you can argue whether these policies are good or bad, you can argue whether the law is good or bad. But, you know, don't rile up, you know, people who are already predisposed to mental illness because you're going to get the sort of results like we've seen of late, up to and including the Charlie Kirk shooting.
- [52:17]
Mike Baker
Yeah, no, absolutely. But again, I, I'd like to say I'm more optimistic, but look, the civility in our, in our discourse has that, that's left the building right along with Elvis. So I don't, I don't see that changing. So I do always kind of try to carry it out. Okay, where does this, where does this logically go? And you're right. You know, maybe elections come around and change the course of immigration policy and, and spin it back in the other direction. That tends to be what happens. The pendulum swings wildly from one hard side to the other.
- [52:54]
Art Arthur
I'm old enough to remember when we had elected representatives who respected their office. Those days are over. Hopefully they'll come back.
- [53:03]
Mike Baker
I'll put money that they don't. But if you want to take the other side of that bet, I'd be happy to put money on that as well as putting money on Old Miss beaten LSU on Saturday. So that's just, that's just a thought, Art. I, it's, it's always fascinating to talk to you about this. You got so much experience in this, in this field. Anything else that, that concerns you about the current situation related to immigration policy that you wanted to get out?
- [53:30]
Art Arthur
No. I mean, you know, we are seeing immigration enforcement move in a positive direction for the first time in at least 10 years. We're seeing the unauthorized population in the United States drop. We're seeing an administration that is attempting to undo some of the harm that's been done. And, you know, with the United nations, we saw President Trump, you know, touting his victories when it comes to immigration in telling, you know, other countries, other allies of ours to get their houses in order. So I think that's, that's going to be a positive thing. But yes, I too, of cheering for the running rebels on Saturday and go Ole Miss.
- [54:15]
Mike Baker
That's a good thing. That's, that's why we have you on the show, frankly. So, hey, look, one last question, and I want to be mindful of time here, but one last question. Could ICE and I suppose the administration do a better job in explaining themselves in messaging so that they have some ability to push back on the narrative that that is out there right now?
- [54:39]
Art Arthur
You know, one of the things that we do see quite often is we see DHS Secretary Trish McLaughlin. We see, you know, come out and talk about these events in real time. We see ICE try to push back on some of these narratives on our social media accounts and on major outlets. I think it's time for the president to actually make an announcement to the country. And, you know, if he, you know, very soberly, very directly talks about the dangers and talks about his vision for where this is going, I think that that would definitely help. But, you know, you also don't want to be a person who reacts to bad behavior. And right now, it would be a reaction to bad behavior. So, you know, again, let's just hope that, you know, people find the next thing that they're going to be excited about and concerned about racial enforcement and that they simply let the officers do their jobs and go home to their families at night.
- [55:39]
Mike Baker
All right. I like, I like you finishing up on an optimistic, hopeful note there that, that, that's appreciated, Art. Well, listen, thank you again, man, for being here on the show. I hope you'll pick up the phone next time we call because we will definitely be calling you back. It's Art Arthur of the center for Immigration Studies. Always great to have him on, particularly at this point in time when there is so much happening in, in that arena. Well, that's all the time we have for the PDB situation report. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com the PDB crew actually does very much love to hear from you. And as you probably heard during the recent UN General assembly speeches, every month the PDB takes some of your best questions and your comments, and we put them all together in a special monthly episode that we call Ask Me Anything. Now a new Ask Me Anything episode is being pulled together even as we speak. You can catch those episodes by becoming a premium member of the President's Daily Brief. And that's very simple to do. Just, just go to PDB premium dot com. Told you it was simple. And once you're a premium member, get this, you can listen to the PDB ad free. How do you like them out? I'm Mike Baker. Until next time. Stay informed, Stay safe. Stay.
- [57:10]
Dana
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Dana
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Art Arthur
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Dana
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