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Undocumented migrants in the USA

Migrants without legal status share their stories

Donald Trump campaigned hard on illegal immigration ahead of the Presidential election and promised voters a major crackdown if they backed him.

Since he came to power, the President has issued executive orders to fortify the country’s borders and suspend the entry of undocumented migrants. He has also vowed to oversee the largest deportation programme in American history with criminals and gang members prioritised in raids.

The three women we talk to came to the US as children and have lived most of their lives in the country…but now they fear being arrested by the authorities and deported.

“I didn’t find out I was undocumented until I was 18,” Angela tells us. “I got accepted to my dream university and we went to registration, we went to go to choose my dorm, my classes and then when we got to the financial aid office, he started to ask me for all these documents I didn’t have…And that’s when I realised, oh, I’m undocumented and this is what it means.”

In the week where the US government unveiled a new detention centre for holding thousands of migrants, we also hear from Republican voters who support the President’s policies.

Presenter: Luke Jones
ѿý producer: Isabella Bull
Boffin Media producer: Richard Hollingham

An EcoAudio certified Boffin Media production in partnership with the OS team.

(Photo: A woman holds a Colombian flag at a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New York. Credit: SARAH YENESEL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Sun 6 Jul 2025 11:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 4 Jul 2025 19:06GMT
  • Sat 5 Jul 2025 08:06GMT
  • Sat 5 Jul 2025 15:06GMT
  • Sat 5 Jul 2025 18:06GMT
  • Sat 5 Jul 2025 23:06GMT
  • Sun 6 Jul 2025 11:06GMT