AI Summary
5 min readIn July 2025, ICE arrested 50,000 people—a record for the agency. Immigration judges are issuing removal orders at a remarkable pace. A Department of Homeland Security spokesman claims the administration has deported a million people and that 2.2 million more have left voluntarily, though no official statistics have been published since January. The mass deportation campaign that helped elect Donald Trump is now in full swing, but it looks very different from the theatrical raids that dominated headlines earlier in the year. After the "Minneapolis effect"—where two American citizens were killed during protests against federal agents—the administration fired its Homeland Security Secretary and brought in a new leadership team. Markwayne Mullin, the senator who took over DHS, promised a quieter approach. Congress appropriated an additional $70 billion for immigration enforcement. The result is a campaign that is less visible but arguably more effective.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:48) **The Mass Deportation Campaign Takes Shape** - Donald Trump’s promise to deport illegal immigrants is now unfolding, but with a quieter, more aggressive strategy than the theatrical raids seen earlier.
- 2 (06:57) **Inside the Overwhelmed Immigration Courts** - Arrested immigrants face a chaotic court system designed to expedite removals, often without fair representation.
- 3 (08:19) **Public Opinion Shifts Against the Campaign** - Americans, especially Hispanic voters who helped elect Trump, are turning against the deportation effort ahead of midterms.
- 4 (11:47) **Reddit’s Dilemma in the Age of AI** - Reddit’s stock has dropped by a third as AI-generated search summaries reduce traffic to its site, threatening its business model.
- 5 (14:24) **Why Reddit’s Data Is Gold for AI** - Reddit’s authentic, commercial-heavy conversations make it the most cited source for chatbots, especially for product recommendations.
- 6 (16:27) **Reddit’s Two Paths Forward** - To counter traffic losses, Reddit can either renegotiate data deals or attract direct users to its app.
- 7 (18:44) **The Bayeux Tapestry’s Epic Homecoming** - The 70-meter medieval textile, depicting the Norman Conquest, arrives at the British Museum for its first exhibition outside France in nearly 1,000 years.
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Show Notes
Donald Trump’s stance on immigration helped him win the presidency. Our correspondent asks if a backlash against the campaign could damage Republican midterm prospects. Reddit is struggling in an age of AI. And the enduring beauty of the Bayeux tapestry.
Guests and host:
- Aryn Braun, West Coast correspondent
- Shera Avi-Yonah, business correspondent
- Alexandra Suich Bass, culture editor
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Deportation, ICE, immigration, Minneapolis
- Reddit, Google, AI
- Bayeux tapestry, 1066, British Museum
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