Up to 10,000 troops could be sent to the US-Mexico border as part of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, an internal memo suggests
The US president has already ordered 1,500 troops to the border to install barriers – a military source says they won't be involved in "law enforcement"
In his first interview since returning to the White House, downplays the threat of TikTok being used by the Chinese government to spy on users
He tells Fox News the app will "stay around" and that other products made in China could just as easily be used for spying – watch the key clip below
Analysis: Trump comes out swinging in rapid start to presidency, writes our North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher
This video can not be played
Watch: Trump says TikTok is 'going to stay around'
Edited by Tinshui Yeung
Robert Reich, a secretary of labour under former US president Bill Clinton, has been speaking to our colleagues at BBC World Service's Newsday programme – telling them he thinks Trump has started his second presidential term "more energetically and cruelly" than many anticipated.
Trump's "very political existence" is based on "his fear of immigration", Reich says, adding that the president believes illegal immigrants in the US are "dangerous" and "criminals". (There's more on that in our last post.)
Reich also criticises Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship – where anyone born in the US becomes a citizen – saying it's a violation of the US constitution: "Decent people could lose their citizenship… children could lose their parents…some parents may not have the right papers".
Migrants often take up low-paid jobs that others won't, Reich tells Newsday, adding there's "no advantage to the American workforce to have this kind of attack" on illegal immigration.
As we've reported, Trump has already declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and in an executive issue he says there's been an "invasion" of America. "This assault on the American people and the integrity of America’s sovereign borders represents a grave threat to our Nation," the document says.
Last night, President Donald Trump took part in his first sit-down interview since returning to the White House, during which he spoke on an array of issues. Here's a recap of what we learnt:
Immigration: He said "prisons from all over the world have been emptied out into our country", carrying on an election claim he made that a spike in illegal border crossings under the Biden administration meant thousands of convicted murderers had entered the US. BBC Verify found at the time that these claims were misleading – read their analysis.
TikTok: "I think TikTok's going to stay around," he told Fox News's Sean Hannity, following his decision to delay the app's ban in the US. When asked about fears that the app is being used by the Chinese government to spy on US citizens, Trump argued "you can say that about everything made in China", and that "we have our telephones made in China". There's more on the delayed TikTok ban in our earlier post.
Political pardons: Pressed on his decision to pardon Capitol rioters, including ones who admitted to violently attacking police officers, Trump doubled down – saying: "I said I was gonna release them, and probably very quickly. And they voted for me. I won in a landslide." He also made light of Joe Biden's last-minute pre-emptive pardons of various family members, saying it was a "sad thing" the outgoing president "didn't give himself a pardon".
FBI files on JFK: Trump was also asked why he hasn't released all the government files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy (JFK), as he promised to do in his first term. He said he was "asked by some government officials not to – and you have to respect them".
This video can not be played
Watch: Trump says it is a 'sad thing' Biden did not pardon himself
Following that update on up to 10,000 US troops being sent to the southern border with Mexico, let's look at the data showing just how many illegal crossings there've been since 2018 – when Donald Trump was last president.
Trump has been highly critical of the Biden administration's approach to immigration, pledging to address "record" illegal border crossings and casting current migration as an "invasion". Crossings did reach record levels under President Biden, but numbers began dropping significantly even before Trump won the election.
The graph below shows the number of "encounters" recorded by US border officials, which include people who attempted to cross illegally and people who tried to enter legally but were deemed inadmissible.
The number of encounters is not a count of individuals who stay in the US, as some migrants will be returned and the same person can be recorded trying to enter multiple times, and it doesn't count the number who cross undetected.
We reported late last night that 1,500 US troops were being deployed to the southern border, where they'd help install barriers but wouldn't be involved in "law enforcement". It forms part of Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration.
There's an update to that figure now – with an internal government memo, seen by the BBC's US partner CBS News, suggesting up to 10,000 troops could actually be deployed.
The Customs and Border Protection memo is dated 21 January – one day after Trump's inauguration – and shows a plan to dispatch "10,000 soldiers" to help the agency. The initial boost of 1,500 troops, to be sent to San Diego in California and El Paso in Texas, will join the 2,500 soldiers already stationed at the border.
The memo also says that US Department of Defense bases may be used as "holding facilities" for migrants waiting to be deported.
Donald Trump has signed sweeping executive orders since returning to the White House, including one on the social media platform
The row in the US over TikTok continues – here's what you need to know:
Want to know more? Get up to speed with Trump's decision to delay the the US's ban of TikTok
We're hearing that billionaire Michael Bloomberg's foundation will step in to fund America's financial obligations to the UN's climate change body – after Trump called for the US to withdraw from the Paris Agreement for the second time.
In one of many executive orders, signed on his first day back in office, Trump said he would end all of the US's international climate financial commitments.
Bloomberg, who serves as a UN special envoy on climate change, says his intervention aims to ensure the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) remains fully funded.
"From 2017 to 2020, during a period of federal inaction, cities, states, businesses and the public rose to the challenge to uphold our nation’s commitments – and now, we are ready to do it again," he says.
Marco Rubio has pledged Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to defending the Philippines against Chinese provocation in the South China Sea, as he speaks to leaders across Asia after being sworn in as secretary of state.
In his first call with Philippines Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo on Wednesday, Rubio said Beijing's behaviour in the South China Sea "undermines regional peace and stability and is inconsistent with international law", according to a statement by the State Department.
“An armed attack in the Pacific, including anywhere in the South China Sea, on either of their public vessels, aircraft, or armed forces – which includes their coast guards – would invoke mutual defence commitments,” the statement said.
Rubio also had a phone call with South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, where he agreed to continue close cooperation on North Korea, and Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono, where he discussed trade, maritime security and the importance of peace and stability in Indo-Pacific.
For those in the UK and Europe who are just joining us, welcome. Here's a brief recap of some key developments on the third day of Donald Trump's presidency:
Sarah Rainsford
Eastern Europe Correspondent
On social media, there is a generally scathing response from Ukrainians to Donald Trump's call to Vladimir Putin to end the war.
Trump’s words were re-posted, in translation, by one popular account on X inviting comments.
Most mocked the president’s ignorance of world history and inability to count. Many suggested that more sanctions were a weak reply to Russian aggression. But the biggest question for most is what Putin is actually open to discussing with Ukraine at any peace talks.
It’s Trump’s position then, that matters. After 11 years of war with Russia, and a history of poor peace deals, Ukrainians aren’t inclined to be hopeful.
There’s also the fact that Russian state media and officials keep referring to Ukraine as "the country currently known as Ukraine". Just before launching a full-scale invasion, Vladimir Putin wrote a whole essay denying Ukraine’s very existence as a state.
In Moscow, some see signs the Kremlin may be readying Russians to accept less than the victory once envisaged, which included tanks rolling all the way west to Odesa. TV editor Margarita Simonyan, who is stridently pro-Putin, has begun talking of "realistic" conditions for ending the war, which she suggests could include halting the fighting along the current frontline.
That would mean the four Ukrainian regions that Vladimir Putin illegally pronounced as Russian territory more than two years ago, like Zaporizhzhia, were still partially controlled by Kyiv.
Russian hardliners, the so-called Z bloggers, are furious at such defeatism.
Earlier, the newly-sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Rubio, who is the US's top diplomat, emphasised US support for Israel according to a readout of the call.
He also reportedly congratulated Netanyahu on Israel's successes against Hamas and Hezbollah.
Around 1,500 members of the US military have been ordered to deploy to the US-Mexico border, as we reported earlier.
Here are a few more details that we received from a military and defence background briefing.
Several hundred troops were expected to arrive soon, where they will be engaged in tasks such as placement of physical barriers and other border missions. They will not be tasked with law enforcement, Trump officials say.
“This is just the start,” said one senior defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A separate military official said troops have not yet been asked to house immigrants at military bases, something that Trump aides have suggested could be coming.
Officials also said troops plan to provide aerial support to border patrol, including via air lifts, and also plan to send intelligence analysts to the border.
You can read more in our story here.
The Justice Department has ordered its Civil Rights Division to cease all new civil rights cases and investigations, according to memos seen by the New York Times and the Washington Post.
In the letter obtained by the Washington Post, it instructs the supervisor of the division to ensure that its lawyers do not file "any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest".
Another memo seen by the New York Times ordered a "litigation freeze" within the Civil Rights Division to allow Trump appointees to decide if they want "to initiate any new cases".
The Civil Rights Division has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, including investigating the Louisville, Kentucky police department after the police killing of Breonna Taylor, and the Minneapolis Police Department after the police killing of George Floyd.
In both cases, the division has issued consent decrees, which are agreements made between the Justice Department and local governments accused of civil rights violations.
A second memo seen by the New York Times also ordered a similar freeze on consent decrees.
Trump has often criticised many of the Justice Department's investigations into police departments as unfair obstructions.
He has nominated Harmeet Dhillon, a California-based Republican attorney and former co-chair of Lawyers for Trump, to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
On Inauguration Day, both the outgoing and incoming US presidents issued controversial pardons that expanded the power to new limits.
Joe Biden gave family members pre-emptive pardons, while Donald Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people charged with crimes related to the riot at the US Capitol.
The BBC's Analysis Editor Ros Atkins examines how both cited "politically motivated prosecutions" to explain their actions – and why that's a challenge for trust in the justice system going forward.
This video can not be played
Ros Atkins on… the politics of pardons
Marco Rubio, the top US diplomat, has had a busy second day as the secretary of state.
He is due to travel to Panama in the coming days in his first trip overseas, according to US officials who spoke to American news outlets.
Trump has been levelling accusations against Panama, claiming that China is in control of the canal that the US dug before handing the vital waterway over to the Central American country.
He has even suggest seizing it with military force – similar to comments he has made about Greenland, a Danish territory.
According to Politico, the trip will take place in February and also include stops in Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Rubio also spoke to the prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, in which they discussed the "threat" of Iran, and the future of the US-Saudi relationship, according to a news release from the State Department.
Earlier, in his interview with Fox, Trump was asked why he has not released all the government files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy (JFK), as he promised to do in his first term.
He says that he did release files "to an extent".
"But I was asked by some government officials not to. And you have to respect them."
He specifically mentions his former secretary of state Mike Pompeo as one of the officials who asked him not to release the classified files.
"I felt he knew something," he says of Pompeo, adding that he felt "it was not a good time to release them".
He later goes on to speculate that Pompeo might "deny" having made the request.
Days before taking office, Trump told a rally that he planned to release the documents, as well as those relating to the assassinations of JFK's brother, Democratic politician Robert Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Hannity presses Trump on his decision to pardon Capitol Hill rioters, including ones who admitted to violently attacking police officers.
Trump says the 6 January convicts were "'treated like the worst criminals in history".
He adds that he sees the decision as his fulfilment of a campaign pledge.
"I was very clear about it," he says.
"I said I was gonna release them, and probably very quickly. And they voted for me. And I won in a landslide."
Trump and Hannity are still talking on Fox News in the sit-down interview which was recorded earlier today. They speak about Biden's last pardons in office, in which he pre-emptively pardoned some of his family members and allies who he said were at risk of being persecuted by the new White House administration.
"The funny thing, or the sad thing, is he didn't give himself a pardon," Trump says about Biden. He adds that there were other people in need of pardons that Biden denied, despite their "begging".
Hannity asks if Congress should investigate Biden's pre-emptive pardons, and Trump doesn't answer.
Trump notes that he never issued himself a pre-emptive pardon after his first term, or any pardons for immediate family members.
This video can not be played
Watch: Trump says TikTok is 'going to stay around'
In a free-flowing interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity, the topic has turned to TikTok – which recently went dark in the US after the Supreme Court upheld a decision that it should be banned. Trump then signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with a law banning the app if it is not sold.
Trump tells Hannity that: "I think TikTok's going to stay around".
When asked about fears that the app is being used by the Chinese government to spy on US citizens, Trump says "you can say that about everything made in China", and that "we have our telephones made in China".
Trump says TikTok users are mainly young people, and asks is it "that important to be spying on young people, on young kids watching crazy videos?" Hannity replies that he doesn't want China spying on anybody.
Trump replies, "but they make your telephones, they make your computers… isn't that a bigger threat?"
In an interview currently airing on Fox News, President Trump says that there are looming budget battles coming to Congress, and notes the need for disaster aid for Los Angeles and North Carolina.
"Los Angeles has changed everything because a lot of money is gonna be necessary for Los Angeles," says Trump, in reference to the wildfires.
After host Sean Hannity mentions North Carolina, a state that voted for him and is still reeling from Hurricane Helene in September, Trump chimes in that "the Democrats don't care about North Carolina".
Regarding federal funding to states, Trump says: "I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems."
He also claims that California is allowing fresh water to drain into the ocean, rather than using it to combat wildfires.
As he was speaking, new evacuation orders were being issued in LA amid a new fast moving wildfire.
People applying for green cards, the name given to a permanent US residency document, are no longer required to have proof of a Covid-19 vaccination, the Trump administration has announced.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says it is "waiving any and all requirements that applicants" seeking legal permanent resident status need to provide proof of receiving a Covid-19 vaccination.
© 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
