JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
This evening, a bill to make immigration detentions and deportations easier gained final approval in Congress. The Laken Riley Act only needs President Trump's signature from here, and that is on top of the sweeping executive actions he already issued this week. The orders cover a lot of ground. They suspend the refugee program and stop the entrance of migrants fleeing dictatorships. President Trump also wants to end birthright citizenship and aims to expand the power and reach of immigration authorities.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Some of these moves are already being challenged in court. So how could the actions that are upheld reshape the immigration landscape in the U.S.? NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán is here in the studio. He covers immigration. Hi, Sergio.
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: So this immigration crackdown is a centerpiece of Trump's executive actions. You've followed it closely. So out of the large number of things he's done, what sticks out to you?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: I mean, all of them are pretty interesting because they are so wide-ranging and aim to really create a new dynamic on immigration enforcement. Today, Trump signed an executive order that, quote, "suspends the physical entry of aliens engaged in an invasion of the United States through the southern border," end quote. And Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border means he'll likely have access to a lot more money and resources for border security.
Today, the Pentagon tells NPR it will also send 1,500 additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. We don't know yet where they will be deployed. But President Biden deployed troops to the southern border, and during his first term, Trump did, too. But the scale of Trump's actions this time feels different. That's what Nayna Gupta, with the American Immigration Council, told me. She's been critical about Trump's actions.
NAYNA GUPTA: So I think what's absolutely clear is that the Trump administration is acting as if it has received a sweeping and unchecked mandate to enact an aggressive anti-immigrant agenda.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: And it's important to remember that Trump ran and won in large part to his promises of targeting illegal immigration, getting tough at the border, but also on deporting millions, including migrants who have not committed crimes.
SHAPIRO: Many of these actions have nothing to do with the border. Tell us about some of these other steps, like he's looking to limit the pathways for legal immigration, too.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Right, and that's big because Republicans have said they want legal migration. Yet Trump's actions look to further narrow those avenues. For instance, he's suspending the refugee program, which has allowed people who are fleeing persecution to come here. The State Department said in a letter that all refugee arrivals were indefinitely suspended and all previously scheduled travel canceled. That right there affects thousands of refugees.
Also, Trump has already shut down an app used by asylum-seekers to schedule an appointment at the southern border. The CBP One app, which was launched by President Biden, was meant to create order at the border and cut down on unlawful entries. But now migrants in Mexico who had an appointment have been turned back.
SHAPIRO: Almost as quickly as he filed these actions, lawsuits were filed against them. Tell us about the pushback.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Yeah, and it's not a big surprise, right? But one of the big ones is more than 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging Trump's decision to end birthright citizenship. That's in the 14th Amendment, and it gives automatic citizenship to kids born here regardless of the legal status of the parents. These attorneys general say Trump can't rewrite the Constitution. But this is likely part of Trump's strategy to have the U.S. Supreme Court eventually weigh in on that question. I talked to Dan Stein, the head of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. He thinks Trump's order will help reduce illegal migration.
DAN STEIN: And the problem is the 14th Amendment is currently interpreted as undermining the ability to manage immigration. If everybody here illegally has a child, it's a citizen. It generates things like birth tourism.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: But Stein says executive orders could ultimately be reversed, so he hopes that a Republican-led Congress can quickly pass legislation to make them law.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, good to see you. Thanks for your reporting.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: You're welcome.
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