Up First from NPR
Continued Crackdown on Illegal Immigration, Canada Votes, Measles Outbreak
Mon, 28 Apr 2025
The Trump administration continues to crack down on US immigrants without legal status. The Canadian election has been dominated by President Trump's trade war and threatening rhetoric, and a measles outbreak is especially bad in Texas, where two of every three Americans with the virus live. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Russell Lewis, Tara Neill, Alfredo Carbajal, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from David Greenburg. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What are the latest updates on illegal immigration under the Trump administration?
Yes, I'm supposed to give a level and Xanadu to Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree. Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered weekend weary. Those are things I've said for many, many years, not every day.
You haven't pulled that one out in a while. I feel sort of honored. I don't know.
It's for you, Michelle.
Thank you. It's a little poem for you. I feel special. Almost 100 days into the Trump administration, authorities arrested more than 100 people in a Colorado nightclub.
The Trump administration says they lacked legal status. What does that say about the drive for mass deportation?
I'm Michelle Martin, that's Stephen Skeap, and this is Up First from NPR News. President Trump won the U.S. election in 2024, and he's a big factor in another election in 2025. Canadians are frightened right now. We're afraid. We're under threat. Canada votes for a new parliament today, and the winning party chooses a prime minister. How has a trade war altered the race?
Also, how can pediatricians persuade parents to let their kids get a measles vaccine?
That is our biggest nemesis, right, is misinformation, at least from a health care perspective.
Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
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Chapter 2: How is the Canadian election influenced by President Trump's policies?
Well, in large part, it's thanks to President Trump. For more than a year, the Conservatives, under their leader, Pierre Polyev, were consistently running 20-plus points ahead of the Liberals in the polls and looked like they would win overwhelmingly in Canada's next election.
But then President Trump began to target Canada, imposing stiff tariffs on the country and saying he wanted to make it the 51st state. And Steve, this really angered Canadians and has had an impact on today's elections. NPR spoke to a number of voters and one overriding concern, the threat of Trump, often came up. This is how Barbara Wilson from Milton near Toronto summed it up.
Canadians are frightened right now. We're afraid. We're under threat. I've heard some people say, oh, you know, he's just joking. He's just joking. No, this is not funny. This is not funny to us. It is a threat. It is real. Yeah, we're feeling vulnerable.
And Steve, the problem for the Conservative leader, Polyev, is that he's seen as copying much of Trump's rhetoric. Canada first, close the borders, shrink the government, erase wokeism. And Canadians started to view him as Trump-lite, sometimes calling him Maple Maga. And that association with Trump has really hurt him and the Conservatives in the polls.
Okay, I'm amused by mapled MAGA, but we should be clear. Looking at the polls, the Liberals are ahead, but this election is within range. We shouldn't be surprised by any result. But it seems that the Liberals also benefited from getting a new leader, didn't they?
Yes, indeed. Mark Carney succeeded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after he resigned. You know, Trudeau is deeply unpopular after a decade in power, and his resignation helped lift the Liberals' chances. Mark Carney is popular even though he has never held political office. He's 60 years old and has a long career in finance on Wall Street and is head of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada.
He's widely viewed as unflappable, and most importantly, he's seen as someone who can handle Trump. The president hasn't said much about annexing Canada since Carney took office. He calls him prime minister rather than governor, like he called Trudeau. And Trump exempted Canada from the global 10% tariffs that he imposed on much of the rest of the world earlier this month.
At the same time, Polyev's team says he too will be tough on Trump if he gets into office.
Well, just as everyone was settling down to vote, Jackie, there was this tragedy, to say the least, in Canada. Eleven people killed when a driver rammed a vehicle into a crowded Filipino festival in Vancouver. I know the police have said it's not terrorism, but what do they think?
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Chapter 3: What is the current status of the measles outbreak in Texas?
Well, local health authorities set up a pop-up clinic in a building where livestock shows are normally held. And billboards and local TV ads encourage people to get vaccinated. There's messaging in English, Spanish, and actually low German for the local Mennonite community. And yet many here still don't trust vaccines.
Pediatrician Dr. Anna Montanez says some parents have chosen to forgo the vaccine for other unproven remedies like vitamin A.
That is our biggest nemesis, right, is misinformation, at least from a health care perspective. I struggle with that every single day with almost every patient that I see.
Now, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously endorsed vitamin A as a treatment for measles. He has since stepped back from that and has said the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to prevent the spread of the disease.
So you have a longtime vaccine skeptic, maybe the top vaccine skeptic in the country, saying the vaccine is good in this case, but I guess that comes too late for some people. So how has this affected especially children?
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Chapter 4: How is misinformation affecting vaccination rates for children?
Yeah, most of the cases in Texas are children. The two deaths so far in West Texas were children. You have to ask why that would be. Here's an intriguing number. About 18% of students in public schools in this county claim conscientious exemption to required vaccines, and that's provided by state law.
Dr. Montanez insists that vaccination is the best prevention, but she says an ounce of protection is worth way more than a pound of cure. But she also says when she engages skeptics and answers their questions about alternative remedies like vitamin A, many have become more open to safer decisions. And when I was in Seminole, families continued to go about their daily lives.
Schools were open, businesses were open, and the virus continues to spread.
Brad Burt with KTTZ in Lubbock, Texas. Thanks so much.
Thanks for having me, Steve.
And that's Up First for this Monday, April 28th. I'm Stephen Skeap.
And I'm Michelle Martin. Remember, you can listen to this podcast sponsor-free while financially supporting public media with Up First Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.
Today's Up First was edited by Russell Lewis, Tara Neal, Alfredo Carbajal, Jenea Williams, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from David Greenberg, and our technical director today is Zach Coleman. Join us again tomorrow.
You've probably seen clips from the Jennifer Hudson show Spirit Tunnel on TikTok or Instagram. The ones where celebrities dance down the hallway to a clever song. These videos can reveal a lot. Do they have rhythm? And how famous are they really? We're breaking down the inescapable internet trend. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR.
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