Unpacking Immigration: The Myth of 'Getting in Line'

What happens if President Donald Trump "seals the border"?

Among Trump's Day 1 executive orders is one called Securing Our Borders, which promises to build the wall, detain and deport immigrants who violate federal or state law, prosecute illegal border crossers, and obtain "complete operational control" of the border. He also declared a state of emergency and ordered the military to "seal the border" and repel an "invasion." Perhaps most controversial of all, another order claims to end birthright citizenship.

The crackdown is already in full swing, with NBC News reporting a single-day record 1,179 immigration arrests this past Sunday. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted pictures of herself overseeing a series of arrests in New York on Tuesday. 

Today's guest is going to help us understand the myths and realities of the immigration system and offer some suggestions about what pragmatic steps could be taken to reform an immigration system that people on all sides have come to believe just isn't working. 

Julia Gelatt is associate director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute, where she studies the legalities of the immigration system, demographic trends, and the interactions between local, state, and federal immigration policy. 

Sources Referenced:

• Executive order: Securing Our Borders
• Executive order: Clarifying The Military's Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States
• Executive order: Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship

• Arresting some criminal aliens this morning in NYC - thank you to the brave officers involved. @DHSgov @ICEgov @SecretService @DEAHQ @USMarshalsHQ @NYPDSpecialops pic.twitter.com/uaRxFCvh5h

  — Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 28, 2025

• "Why Deportations Were Higher Under Biden Than in Trump's First Term," by Albert Sun
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops statement on immigration raids
• Executive order: Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program
• Refugee admissions by region
• "A New Way Forward for Employment-Based Immigration: The Bridge Visa," by Julia Gelatt and Muzaffar Chishti
• U.S. total fertility rate
• "A Turning Point for the Unauthorized Immigrant Population in the United States," by Jennifer Van Hook, Julia Gelatt, and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
• "Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States: Stable Numbers, Changing Origins," by Randy Capps, Julia Gelatt, Ariel Ruiz Soto, and Jennifer Van Hook
• State Department table on immigration visas issued 2014-2023
• "U.S. Immigrant Population and Share over Time," by the Migration Policy Institute
• Office of the New York State Comptroller's Asylum Seeker Spending Report

Chapters:

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:56 How did we get here?
• 03:50 The impact of social media on migration
• 05:41 What will the short-term effect of Trump's executive orders look like?
• 10:47 What is life like for someone trying to enter the U.S. through Mexico?
• 13:16 What is/was the CBP One app?
• 14:28 Steelmanning the Trumpian case against immigration
• 25:48 The most common jobs an immigrant takes.
• 29:16 J.D. Vance's spat with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• 36:39 How much money does the government spend to resettle a refugee?
• 37:23 The failures of New York
• 44:32 The reality of government assistance
• 48:31 Immigration, the job market, and fertility rates
• 56:56 The problems with the current visa system
• 01:00:43 Bridge visas
• 01:07:54 Brain Drain?
• 01:11:01 The future of birthright citizenship
• 01:16:15 What is a question that you think that more people should be asking?

• Producer: John Osterhoudt

The post Julia Gelatt: What Happens if Trump 'Seals the Border'? appeared first on Reason.com.