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Immigration Under Trump: A Conversation with Victor Davis Hanson

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In the latest episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, Victor Davis Hanson, a Hoover Institution fellow, discusses the changes in U.S. immigration policy under President Trump with Mark Krikorian, the Center for Immigration Studies’ executive director. The discussion begins with acknowledging how the political landscape for Trump 2.0 differs greatly from the first Trump administration, giving President Trump maneuvering room to make major immigration policy changes.

Key topics include:

Border Enforcement & Deportation:

  • A comparison of President Trump’s 2021 and 2025 immigration policies.
  • The wisdom of Trump’s “worst first” deportation strategy.
  • Over the last four years the composition of the illegal immigration population has changed to include a larger number of nationalities besides Mexicans. Will this weaken the cohesive lobbying effort to fight deportations?

Birthright Citizenship & Legal Challenges:

  • Trump’s executive order addressing birthright citizenship.
  • Predictions on the potential Supreme Court battle and legislative efforts.

U.S.-Mexico Relations & Economic Impact:

  • Mexico’s shifting stance on immigration.
  • Mexican public opinion turns against mass migration.
  • Trump’s potential tariff and remittance restrictions as leverage.

Immigration & Fertility Rates:

  • Declining U.S. birth rates and state-level trends.
  • Can immigration raise the national fertility rate and achieve replacement level?
  • Immigration’s impact on native fertility.

In his closing commentary, Mark Krikorian, the podcast host, highlights a new Center report, The Declining Education Level of Newly Arrived Immigrants, which finds a decline in the education level of newly arrived (the past three years) immigrants. The decline, which added greatly to the low-income population, is in stark contrast to the steady improvement in the education level in the years prior to the border surge.

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guest

Victor Davis Hanson is a Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Related

VictorHanson.com

Trump Issues Birthright Citizenship Executive Order

The Declining Education Level of Newly Arrived Immigrants

Intro Montage

Voices in the opening montage:

  • Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
  • Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
  • President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
  • Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
  • Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
  • Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
  • Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
  • Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
  • Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
  • Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".
Host:
Mark Krikorian