Trump touts early border success during Congressional address

During his first address to a joint session of Congress since retaking the White House, Pres. Donald Trump celebrated his administration's early executive actions that have made the Biden border crisis a distant memory.

Trump kicked off his speech by touting newly released figures from the Department of Homeland Security showing that February's border apprehensions–Trump's first full month in office–sunk to a record low of 8,326. It was just 14 months ago (December 2023) that Border Patrol agents apprehended 249,740 illegal border crossers, more than 8,000 per day.

Trump's biggest applause line came when he trolled Pres. Biden, Democrats, and a handful of Republicans who said last year that Congress had to pass legislation to end the border crisis.

“The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation. ‘We must have legislation to secure the border.’ But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president.”

Trump also highlighted his administration's first legislative success, signing the Laken Riley Act (S.5) into law. The law requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to detain certain criminal aliens and allows local jurisdictions to sue the federal government for failing to do so.

He also struck an emotional note when he honored not only Laken Riley, but also Jocelyn Nungaray. Jocelyn was a 12-year-old girl who was brutally murdered by illegal aliens near her home in Houston. Trump announced that he was renaming a wildlife refuge in her honor.

While the President's early actions have ended the border crisis, Congress still needs to act to prevent future crises. His executive actions, which can be found using our Administration Accountability resource, can be rescinded by a future administration, so Congress needs to close the loopholes exploited by the Biden Administration. 

The best legislative fix is H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. The bill passed through the House of Representatives during the previous Congress but was never brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Since Republicans held the House and retook the Senate on the issue of immigration, we expect Congress to do everything possible to send H.R. 2 to Pres. Trump’s desk.

Immigration News

State Department unveils visa restrictions on foreign officials in immigration crackdown
There is more great news from the State Department this week. Secretary Rubio has announced new visa sanctions for foreign government officials who have been “deemed culpable” for facilitating illegal immigration to the United States. The Trump Administration has really leaned into a whole-of-government approach to ending illegal immigration, and Secretary Rubio has been doing exceptional work.

Pentagon to send 3,000 more troops to the US-Mexico border
Last week, we told you about how southwest border apprehensions had reached an all-time monthly low in February. While this is great news, migration flows can change on a dime, so the Trump Administration continues to ramp up enforcement. On Saturday, they announced an additional 3,000 troops would be sent to the southern border, bringing the total force to 9,000. We hope to get a clearer picture of the drop in nationwide encounters late next week or early the following week when the full data becomes public.

Trump raids will now target migrant families who entered the U.S. with their children
NBC highlighted a new operation where ICE is focused on removing illegal aliens who entered the country with children. While media reports like this are clearly designed to generate sympathy during mass deportations, it’s a great opportunity to point out why these efforts are necessary to prevent future human suffering. In the past, when U.S. policy was to release illegal family units and children into the country, more family units and children arrived illegally. The U.S. government must make it clear that all illegal immigration is unacceptable, so it’s not worth migrants risking their lives or their children’s lives. Furthermore, just like American citizens, there should be legal consequences for endangering children.

Report | De Facto Mass Amnesty: How The Biden-Harris Administration Abused Temporary Protected Status To Shield Hundreds Of Thousands Of Illegal Aliens From Deportation
The incredible staff at the House Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement released a report early this week that details how the Biden Administration abused Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to give amnesty to more than a million illegal aliens without Congress’ involvement. The full report is included in the link if you’d like to do a deep dive on this issue.

Next week

Both the House and Senate are in session for a short week and must pass legislation to extend government funding beyond March 14th.