Trump’s Shock-and-Awe Crackdown Sows Fear Among Migrants

Summary

WSJ What’s News - Trump’s Shock-and-Awe Crackdown Sows Fear Among Migrants
Release Date: January 29, 2025
Host: Alex Osola, Michelle Hackman
Produced by: Pierre Bienname, Anthony Bansi, Michael Kosmides

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Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rates Steady

The episode begins with a significant update from the Federal Reserve. On January 29th, the Fed announced it would maintain current interest rates, marking its first decision since President Trump assumed office.

Key Highlights:

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Statement: Powell emphasized a "wait and see" approach as the Fed evaluates the necessity of further rate adjustments from the recent two-decade high. (01:03)

• Spencer Jacob’s Insight: Spencer Jacob, Global Editor of Hurt on the Street, explains, “With our policy stance significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance.” (01:36)

• Market Reactions: Laura Ku Sisto notes that the Fed's decision led to immediate market reactions due to the removal of language regarding unemployment and inflation, suggesting concerns about the inflationary impacts of Trump’s policies. (01:59)

• Future Projections: Laura further discusses that the futures market now estimates a 77% chance of no rate changes in the upcoming Fed meeting seven weeks away, with more clarity expected by mid-March on the effects of Trump’s policies. (02:30)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Confirmation Hearing

Transitioning to political developments, the focus shifts to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearings for the position of Health Secretary.

Key Highlights:

• Spencer Jacob’s Report: RFK Jr. has managed to navigate controversial topics by deferring to President Trump, particularly on vaccines and abortion, aiming to reassure both Republicans and Democrats. (04:53)

• RFK Jr.’s Stance on Vaccines: Despite past criticisms, RFK Jr. asserts, “I believe that vaccines play a critical role in healthcare. All of my kids are vaccinated. I've written many books on vaccines... I am not anti-vaccine.” (05:59)

• Hearing Dynamics: The hearings have been highly partisan, with RFK Jr. facing intense scrutiny from the Senate Finance Committee. Although he has stumbled on some technical questions, there haven't been any significant breakthroughs against him. (06:24)

Trump’s Intensified Immigration Crackdown

The core segment of the episode delves into President Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, which have heightened fears among migrant communities across the country.

Key Highlights:

• Michelle Hackman’s Analysis: She explains that ICE continues to target individuals with criminal backgrounds but has recently shifted to broader quotas, aiming to arrest 1,000 to 1,500 migrants daily. This shift has led to an increase in targeting non-criminals for ease of arrest. (08:58)

• Public Relations Strategy: Hackman emphasizes that the administration is amplifying these efforts to appear effective and fulfill campaign promises. “They are really trying to amplify each of those efforts and make it look huge so that they can satisfy their voters and their base...” (00:50)

• Impact on Immigrant Communities: Immigrants are experiencing heightened fear, leading to behavioral changes such as avoiding public transportation and traveling to safer neighborhoods to evade detection. A construction worker mentioned avoiding his usual supermarket and opting for locations in predominantly white neighborhoods to reduce the risk of being apprehended. (09:47)

• Michelle Hackman on PR Campaign: She elaborates, “The big thing that we've seen is... they are really trying to amplify each of those efforts and make it look huge so that they can satisfy their voters and their base...” (08:58)

Market and Corporate Earnings Overview

The episode also covers the day's market movements and notable corporate earnings:

Key Highlights:

• Stock Market Declines: Following the Fed’s decision, major indices like the Dow, S&P 500, and NASDAQ closed lower by approximately 0.3% and 0.5% respectively. (03:21)

• Corporate Earnings:

  • Tesla: Reported a 3% increase in fourth-quarter profits, driven by growth in energy and service sectors. (03:21)
  • Meta Platforms: Achieved record fourth-quarter revenue with a 21% increase, surpassing analysts' expectations, aided by advancements in artificial intelligence for its ad business. (03:21)
  • Microsoft: Reported a 12% rise in overall revenue to nearly $70 billion and a 10% increase in net income to about $24 billion, both exceeding forecasts. (03:21)

Additional Legal and Political Developments

The episode touches on other significant legal and political stories:

Key Highlights:

• Meta’s Settlement with Trump: Meta Platforms agreed to pay approximately $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit initiated by President Trump after his accounts were suspended following the Capitol attacks. (06:48)

• Bob Menendez’s Sentencing: Former New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being found guilty of bribery, fraud, and illegal foreign agent offenses. His legal team has announced plans to appeal. (10:19)

• Harvey Weinstein’s New Trial: Disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein is set to face a new trial on sexual assault charges in New York starting April 15, following the overturning of his 2020 conviction due to significant judicial errors. (10:19)

Conclusion and Upcoming Segments

The episode concludes with a brief mention of the IRS tax season tips and promotions for the Wall Street Journal’s Money Briefing podcast, which will cover the latest tax rules, data safety, and free filing options.

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Notable Quotes

• Michelle Hackman:
  “They are really trying to amplify each of those efforts and make it look huge so that they can satisfy their voters and their base that they're meeting the expectations of this mass deportation effort they promised.” (00:50)

• Spencer Jacob:
  “With our policy stance significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance.” (01:36)

• Michelle Hackman:
  “People are really scared. People have really already changed their behavior...” (09:47)

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This comprehensive summary captures the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the WSJ "What’s News" podcast episode, providing a clear and engaging overview for those who haven't listened.

Transcript

[Alex Osola]

Oh such a clutch off season pickup Dave. I was worried we'd bring back the same team. I meant Those blackout motorized shades lines.com made it crazy affordable to replace our old blinds. Hard to install? No, it's easy. I installed these and then got some from my mom. She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and install hall of fame son. They're the number one online retailer of custom window coverings in the world. Blinds.com is the goat jotblinds.com right now and get up to 40% off select.

[Michelle Hackman]

Styles plus a free professional measure.

[Alex Osola]

Rules and restrictions may apply. The Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady as it enters a new wait and see phase. Plus, RFK Jr faces off with Congress on the first day of his confirmation hearing. And as President Trump ramps up his efforts to crack down on immigration, the shock and awe around them might be just as effective.

[Michelle Hackman]

They are really trying to amplify each of those efforts and make it look huge so that they can satisfy their voters and their base that they're meeting the expectations of this mass depression effort they promised.

[Alex Osola]

It's Wednesday, January 29th. I'm Alex Osila for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's news, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. Today, as expected, the Federal Reserve announced that it was holding rates steady. It was the Fed's first decision since Trump was sworn in as president. In a press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed felt it could adopt a new wait and see approach. And as it tries to determine whether and how much more to lower rates from a recent two decade high.

[Spencer Jacob]

With our policy stance significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance.

[Alex Osola]

Spencer Jacob, global editor of Hurt on the street, joins now to talk about the Fed's decision. Spencer, let's go a bit beyond that top line decision to hold rates steady. Were there any indications about how the Fed was thinking about Trump's policies?

[Laura Ku Sisto]

There definitely were. And so you're talking about a meeting that was seen as probably the least interesting, least exciting Fed meeting in quite a while. And it did turn out to be more interesting because they removed some language about the unemployment rate, they removed some language about inflation. And so you did have not a sharp, but you had an immediate market reaction. And the sense that it left the market with is that there's some trepidation over the inflationary impacts of Trump policies and just the in general, the stubbornness of inflation.

[Alex Osola]

So of course, the question that comes after every single Fed meeting is whether there's any indication about what is to come in the future. I know that, you know, a lot of people were expecting the Fed to lower rates this year. Does what came out today change that thinking at all?

[Laura Ku Sisto]

It slightly tempered that thinking if you look at market expectations. So there's a futures market where people make bets on this. And I wouldn't bet my life on this futures market getting things right. But the latest there is that there's probably a 77% chance that nothing is done at the next Fed meeting, which is seven weeks from today. Of course, by mid March, we're going to know a lot more about the impacts of Trump policy and we're going to have some more economic data points.

[Alex Osola]

That was global editor of Hurt on the Street, Spencer Jacob. Thanks, Spencer.

[Laura Ku Sisto]

Thank you.

[Alex Osola]

U.S. stock indexes closed lower today after the Fed's decision. The Dow was down about 0.3% and the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ both fell roughly half a percent. They're calling it Super Wednesday. Not only did the Fed announce its decision on interest rates, but several big companies reported earnings. Here's a quick roundup of some of the most notable ones. Tesla's fourth quarter profit rose 3% due to growth in its energy and service businesses. That's helped it regain some momentum in the final months of what has been a rollercoaster year for the world's most valuable automake. Meta posted record revenue in the fourth quarter, aided by artificial intelligence improvements to its ad business. The Facebook and Instagram parent reported a 21% increase in sales, which was ahead of analysts expectations, an estimated first quarter revenue growth of 8% to 15%. And Microsoft reported that its overall revenue went up 12% to nearly $70 billion and its net income was up 10% to about $24 billion. Both figures were ahead of analysts expectations. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. President Trump's pick for health secretary, stood in front of Congress today. It was the first of two days of his confirmation hearing and members of the Senate Finance Committee asked him about his personal opinions that could affect how he would run the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services. I'm joined now by our reporter, Laura Ku Sisto. Laura, how has RFK junior Done so far?

[Spencer Jacob]

He's done more or less as expected. He, on controversial issues like abortion, really kind of punted to the president, said, I'm not gonna take a stance on this. I'm gonna follow the president's lead on vaccines. You saw him really kind of trying to soften his stance on that issue to reassure Democrats and other people who might be concerned that he wasn't going to be anti vaccine. You definitely saw some stumbles. He struggled on some more technical questions about things like Medicare and Medic, but broadly, I don't think we saw any kind of big blow up that's gonna really capture the popular imagination or anything like that.

[Alex Osola]

RFK Jr responded to criticism he had received after raising questions about the efficacy of the COVID 19 vaccine. I believe that vaccines play a critical role in healthcare. All of my kids are vaccinated. I've written many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014, the first line of it is, I am not anti vaccine. And the last line is, I am not anti vaccine. Is his stance on Covid surprising?

[Spencer Jacob]

Well, that it is something that has really helped him a little bit with Republicans who are somewhat skeptical of the US Government's approach to Covid, who felt like it was an example of overreach. And of course, Democrats are gonna really kind of pin him down, though, on this question of pandemic preparedness, that this isn't likely to be the last pandemic we experience. And so it's gonna be a little bit of from where do and how do you kind of see what happened.

[Alex Osola]

With COVID So RFK Jr has another day of hearings tomorrow. How are things looking for him at this stage?

[Spencer Jacob]

The hearing broke very much along party lines, perhaps more than we expected and certainly more than he had hoped, given that he's a little bit of an unorthodox candidate.

[Alex Osola]

That was Journal reporter Laura Kisto. Thank you, Laura.

[Spencer Jacob]

Thank you so much.

[Alex Osola]

Meta Platforms has agreed to pay roughly $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit that President Trump brought against the company and its CEO after the social media platform suspended his accounts following the attacks on the US Capitol that year. That's according to people familiar with the agreement. Meta declined to comment. The Trump administration rescinded its order to freeze federal aid funding. The move comes a day after a federal judge temporarily blocked the directive that had sowed widespread confusion. The move marked a rare and sudden about face for Trump. President Trump said today he plans to order the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security to construct a facility for holding as many as 30,000 migrants at Guantanamo Bay. Pentagon officials said they were unaware of the plan. Coming up, how immigrants are reacting to Trump's crackdown. That's after the. It's tax season, so what's new this year that could save you money?

[Spencer Jacob]

The IRS says that taxpayers spend 13 hours and $290 preparing and paying just for the tax prep, so it's worth.

[Alex Osola]

Looking into different options. On the youe Money Briefing podcast from the Wall Street Journal, we're breaking down the latest tax rules, how to keep your tax data safe, and ways to file for free. Catch our Series tax season 2025 what's new February 2nd and 9th on your money Briefing. President Trump's immigration directives are clearing the path for officials to step up deportations. His administration has launched raids and marshaled federal powers across the government to make immigration his top priority. In Trump's first week, agency data showed that Immigration and Customs enforcement arrested nearly 5,000 migrants, more than double the average number of weekly arrests made during former President Joe Biden's last year in office. But Trump's PR campaign might be just as effective. It's unsettling immigrant communities across the country. I'm joined now by Michelle Hackman, who covers immigration policy for the Wall Street Journal. Michelle, what exactly is the strategy here as far as the PR campaign is concerned?

[Michelle Hackman]

As far as we can tell, ICE is continuing to operate how it has in the past. ICE develops these, what they call target lists of people with criminal backgrounds that they're prioritizing for arrest and deportation. They then strategize about how to go and hit each of those targets, and that has continued. The big thing that we've seen is, especially in the last, like, three days, they've been putting agents on overtime, making them work weekends and hitting those targets faster. But the real big difference we're seeing is that they are really trying to amplify each of those efforts and make it look huge so that they can satisfy their voters and their base that they're meeting the expectations of this mass deportation effort they promised.

[Alex Osola]

How are immigrants reacting to this?

[Michelle Hackman]

People are really scared. People have really already changed their behavior. We're hearing all sorts of reports that in Latino neighborhoods, streets are kind of empty. We've heard reports that public transportation is emptier than usual, that people are scared to get on the subway or the bus. People are scared to go to work or go to a supermarket. We spoke to someone in the story who's a construction worker who said, I've been avoiding my normal supermarket. I actually go to supermarkets, like really far from where I live in white neighborhoods, because I feel like it's less likely I'd get picked up there.

[Alex Osola]

Just turning back to Trump for a moment, given that immigration is his top priority, why is he seeming to come at it kind of piecemeal. Why isn't he taking these sort of big sweeping steps against immigrants?

[Michelle Hackman]

It's an interesting question. During the campaign, he said that he wanted to go after 15 or 20 million people. And after he won, we saw this really interesting narrowing where they were talking about we're really going to go for the worst of the worst. First, we're going for criminals. And that happened, we've reported in the past, because they've realized, like what they were promising was logistically impossible. And so they needed to sell something that still sounded exciting to people but was a little bit more logistically possible. And since then, I think we've seen yet another shift where they've actually gone and set basically these quotas that ICE needs to arrest roughly 1,000 to 1,500 people a day. And the fastest way to do that is to actually go after non criminals because they're easier to find in arrest.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ reporter Michelle Hackman. Thanks, Michelle.

[Michelle Hackman]

Thank you.

[Alex Osola]

In other news, former New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Last summer, a federal jury found Menendez guilty of bribery, fraud and illegal foreign agent offenses. His lawyers have said he will appeal the conviction. And disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will face a new trial on sexual assault charges in New York starting April 15. Weinstein was convicted in 2020 by a Manhattan jury of third degree rape for a 2013 incident in which he had sex with aspiring actress Jessica Mann against her will. New York's top appeals court overturned the 2020 conviction in April last year, citing significant errors from the judge. And that's what's news for this Wednesday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Pierre Bienname and Anthony Bansi, with supervising producer Michael Kosmides. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.