I'm Dahlia Lithwick, and I'm host of AmicuS, Slate's podcast about the law and the US Supreme Court. We are shifting into high gear, coming at you weekly with the context you need to understand the rapidly changing legal landscape, the many trials of Donald J. Trump, judicial ethics arguments and opinions. At SCOTUS, we are tackling the big legal news with clarity and insight every single week. New amicus episodes every Saturday wherever you listen.

You're listening to Comedy Central from the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central. It's America's only source for news. This is the Daily with your host, Sean Stewart.

Welcome to the Daily show. My name is John Stewart. We got a hell of a show for you tonight. I'm going to try this one first and foremost, wanted to thank everybody for such kind words about my dog, Dipper. It truly meant a lot to me and I took great comfort in it. But before we do anything, breaking news, this is CNN breaking news. We begin with the breaking news this morning. The United States Supreme Court ruling that former President Donald Trump cannot be removed from any state's ballot for his actions on January 6. I think the real breaking news here, oh, pipe down. They know better than the Supreme Court. In all my years of law school, I couldn't believe the argument. I think the real breaking news here is Wolf Blitzer and I appear to be merging. We are becoming one blitzoff, by the way, the Supreme Court, nine to nothing. The ruling was let Donnie Cook. So let that be, really let that be a lesson to all you out there who might be thinking about subverting the constitution in a presidential election. A you go, boy. For more on the Supreme Court's ruling, we turn to our own Desi Lydick live.

Desi, thank you for joining us down there tonight. I warn you before you do your report. Audience filled with law students. So, Desi, Democrats have to be disappointed in this ruling.

Yes, Democrats are doing more shower crying than normal today, John, but they are still confident that a conviction in the January 6 trial can keep Trump out of the White House.

But, Desi, that's seemingly not likely going to happen before election day.

Right? But fortunately, Trump has three other criminal trials coming up. One of those has to be a conviction. So Democrats are optimistic.

But Trump can still be president if he's convicted. I mean, none of the cases would stop that, right?

I'm glad you brought that up, John. Democrats say if none of these cases go their way, there is still another.

Avenue to pursue the getting more votes scenario.

They're not there. Yet. They were going to lay Reese's pieces out in a trail that leads into a golden tent labeled Mar a Lago that can only be zipped from the outside. Or they discussed making him the next golden bachelor. Once he's surrounded by women his own age, Democrats believe he will spontaneously combust.

I still think the more votes Democrats find a witch.

The witch turns Donald Trump into a bird. The bird isn't there on election day, having already migrated to a warmer climate.

Desi, the election's obviously tight. The battleground states are going to be difficult, but clearly there is a path to victory for democrats, even if narrow.

Oh, yes, you're talking about sending Trump an apple vision pro preloaded with so he'll be too busy masturbating to campaign.

That can work, actually. Desi Ryder, everybody. Well, there you have it. I didn't think of the last one. That does sound plausible, but there you have it. Breaking news. The presidential election is still on. We now return you to your regularly scheduled presidential election year programming.

Foxes learn America's border crisis boiling over. Chaos at the border.

The never ending surge of migrants crashing across our southern border. Yes, every two to four years, we are reminded that we have a southern border, and it is porous. There's a migrant crime spree killing Americans, and the president's an accessory to murder. We are being overwhelmed. There is no word to describe this except invasion. Illegal invaders invading America, pouring over our border by the millions.

Criminals, rapists, murderers, child predators, and God knows who else.

God knows who else. I mean, statistically, a couple of them at least have to be podcasters. I mean, murderers. But point taken. I think my pants just shit their pants. And if you're thinking that these are just some central American no goodniks, think again. The countries we know, they're coming from Iran, number one state sponsor of terror. Their satellite country, Syria. Egypt, home of the Muslim Brotherhood. Afghanistan, home of al Qaeda, 10,000 plus.

From Russia, record numbers of chinese men of military age who have come across our border.

The number of military age men that are showing up with military haircuts, clearly in shape. These guys are showing up with six packs and military boots. They're clearly clear tight asses. There's not an ounce of fat on these mothers. I am so hard, right? I want to go down to that goddamn border, and I want to get ass deep on these immigrants. I want to suck. And until I want to cash me outside. How about that? That's what I'm. Wow. So we got. Crowd loves my dirty Phil impression. We got criminals. We got terrorists. Is there anyone else down there we should be worried about? Anybody ever hear of Hannibal Lecter? He was a nice fellow, but that's what's coming into our country right now. Wouldn't cannibals amongst them be the solution to the problem? Or are they fasting until they get to America? Well, it's clear hyperbole, but there does seem to be bipartisan agreement now that the border is a problem. There were 300,000 crossings in December alone. That's an all time high, and that is not sustainable. But Republicans turned down the chance to pass a strong border bill supported by the border Patrol union because of how confident they are that fear mongering will be an effective election year strategy.

It's all about branding. I call it migrant crime. I really call it Biden migrant crime, but it's too long. So let's just call it migrant crime, and everyone's going to know it's because of Biden. We will call it from now on. Biden migrant crime. Okay, it's vigrant crime. This is. We'll call it. I got a vigrant. Let's call it Biden crime. Oh, that's good. That's smart. Vigrant crime. It's a portmanteau. I'm not completely sold on it really. Just sounds like a migrant who's open to crossing either border. It's migrant crime. Migrants. Look, there are some undocumented migrants who are committing crimes, some of them horrific. But isn't that true for every demographic, including natives? I feel pretty confident there's still a lot of opportunity out there for our american homegrown criminals. But if it's enough of an issue that on Thursday, we had ourselves a good old fashioned border off. As both men saddled up and headed to the southern border, Trump headed to Eagle Pass, and Biden headed to Brownsville. It was bitch ass Cassidy versus the sundown kid, and Biden was fired up.

We're the United States of America.

Nailed it. He knew exactly where we are. He knew what country we were in. Bang, boom. This is the United States of America. I take back everything I said a month ago. Lay out your proposal.

Sir, I understand my predecessor's negal pass today. So here's what I would say to Mr. Trump. Instead of playing politics with issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or I'll join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill, we can do it together.

Ladies and gentlemen, the olive branch has been extended across the aisle in a show of genuine desire to solve this complex and vexing issue. Trump, your response? Crooked Joe is the blood of countless innocent victims. That's a no. Seriously, though, crooked Joe. We still going with that? Crooked Joe Biden? He's crooked. I took the name away from Hillary because she's no longer relevant, I guess. Do you have to say everything that happens in your head out loud? It's been eight years. You've won. The woman's been through enough. Now you're going to take away her nickname. Now what are you doing? But let me tell you something, Trump. I don't know why I got serious there. You can't scare the Democrats because the one thing that the Democrats have are principles when it comes to immigration. The Democrats hold to our country's cherished ideals the eternal promise etched at the feet of lady liberty that speaks to our better angels. The only way we're going to have a great future in America is if.

We welcome and embrace immigrants. These people are folks that we should be helping. America welcomes immigrants.

We want people to come here despite where they came from or despite the circumstances that drove them to this country.

This is a place where the Statue of Liberty sits in the harbor and we say, bring us your tired, those who are yearning to be free, unshakable.

Bedrock american values of compassion and empathy. And there is not a damn thing that you can do to change that.

Busses arriving in New York City from Texas one after another, filled with migrants seeking asylum.

That's all you got? Nice try, Texas, but you heard the mayor. We're New York City. How dare you? No disrespect, but you are never going to change our values because you're afraid. So keep sending those busloads because we got plenty of room in our hearts and in this city.

We have no more room in the city.

It, what about the yearnings and the tiredness and the tiredness of those who are doing the yearning?

Hundred and 10,000 migrants. We have to feed, clothe, house, educate the children, wash their laundry sheets. This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City.

I mean, they're supposed to be doing our sheets. What's going on around here? What kind of topsy turvy world are we living in over here? Yes. It turns out in the age old battle between values and fear, values never had a chance. It took two busloads of Venezuelans to go from this to this. So this is the terrible cycle America is caught in. Democrats whose high minded values and principles did not survive a contact high with reality and Republicans whose desire to solve the problem isn't nearly as strong as their desire to exploit it. And no one wins. Well, except this guy, clearly in shape. He said you guys are showing up with six packs and military boots. Learn more about it in his new special, Dr. Phil straddles the border. When we come back. Officer Jonathan Blitzkull will be joining me. Don't go.

I'm Dahlia Lithwick, and I'm host of AmicuS, Slate's podcast about the law and the US Supreme Court. We are shifting into high gear, coming at you weekly with the context you need to understand the rapidly changing legal landscape, the many trials of Donald J. Trump, judicial ethics arguments and opinions. At SCOTUS, we are tackling the big legal news with clarity and insight every single week. New amicus episodes every Saturday, wherever you listen.

I guess. Tonight covers immigration for the New Yorker. His new book is called everyone who is gone is here, the United States and Central America and the making of a crisis. Please welcome to the program Jonathan Blitzer. Sir, thank you for joining us. First things first. What are you doing to me? I have a family. I have a life. This is a very long book.

You don't have to read the notes, fan notes.

Why? Didn't have to read the whole.

No, that's fine.

Son of a bitch. What an incredibly thorough documentation of the causes of the immigration crisis, the discussions that have been going on through multiple administrations. In your mind, what has us trapped in this sort of sisyphysian nightmare?

Yeah. I mean, for years and years, we've watched kind of in this loop as politicians in Washington say, we can't pass comprehensive immigration reform because of the situation at the border. And yet the situation at the border is in a state of chaos because we have not passed comprehensive immigration reform. And as a result, the asylum system at the southern border has borne the brunt of the otherwise failing system. And so we're stuck in this loop where lawmakers in Washington Point to the border to justify their inaction, and the border is in the state of chaos that it is because of inaction in Washington.

Right. I almost never hear politicians talking about how many people can you absorb? I mean, when you tell me there's going to be 2 million people coming through the southern border and they are just being kind of logged and released, that sounds utterly chaotic and a recipe for disaster. But how many people can this country absorb? What do we need for economic growth? What is a better system? I feel like we never talk about that. We just react to images of chaos. Absolutely.

I mean, we can't talk about one aspect of the immigration system without view of the other. And so if we're only ever talking about the southern border, we're missing the entire kind of picture that we need to better understand. But just as an example, right now, you don't take my word for it.

You should. You should don't. You're the only one until you read the footnotes.

The chairman of the Federal Reserve, economists across the country, everyone is pointing to the fact that immigrant labor has essentially kept this country's economy afloat following the COVID years. And so this is the engine of growth. The population is getting older.

Immigrant labor can be more easily exploited, is paid less, starts to depress wages for a lot of other people. Is that not accurate?

I don't think it is entirely. I think it's a much, somewhat accurate, reasonably accurate. Well, until there are ways of absorbing an immigrant labor force legally into the country, there are always going to be opportunities for employers to exploit the undocumented and in the process to drive down working wages. And so the idea is there needs to be a thoroughgoing reform of the system. And the problem is, of course, that in Washington, that's been dead on arrival now for decades. And so we're kind of in this doom loop where the border is the symbol of everything, but obviously in a kind of commonsensical way. The only way to approach this broader problem is to deal with every aspect of the system.

This is where you drop us like a little drop of sunshine and you say, but here's the good news.

Go, what's in here? No, I would say the good news is that from a policy perspective at least, doing some of the things to relieve pressure at the southern border are no great mystery to lawmakers. I mean, the problem, of course, is the politics, but it doesn't require any great feat of the imagination.

This is not a complexity beyond the imagination of human beings.

Correct.

And we don't have to restabilize areas we destabilized to really get a handle on it. It's about fixing the system of think.

You know, overall, the only way to kind of deal with migration trends in the world is to understand the forces in a global context. And that means that the United States has to be more mindful of the consequences of its foreign policy. It has to work with partners in the region. All very blacked out when you said.

You said something about mindful foreign policy and. Yeah, exactly. I just started thinking about you too, in the sphere. I don't know what's going on now.

But I will say this. Reforming the asylum system specifically is a complex task. And I do think some hard decisions have to be made about kind of reckoning with the population of people showing up at the southern border and kind of understanding what the limits are of the asylum system as we know it. But before we get to a point of having to make these major sacrifices to a system that I think really should be a core part of american policy, for ethical reasons and just for straight ahead policy reasons, branding, to say nothing else, there are things that could be done. Basic things like sending more money to the government to hire more asylum officers, more immigration judges. These things sound boring. They sound wonky. And very specifically, Republicans in Congress are trying to block these very straight ahead, basic measures from taking place, just basic funding measures, because they benefit from increased chaos at the southern border. So there are things that could be done that would not be a silver bullet.

There's no hope until after the election to even address any of it.

I mean, it's pretty overwhelming to see right now. Republicans in Congress basically say, we're not going to touch this. I mean, they've said it explicitly, this.

Is the greatest danger to know, maybe ever, and we're not going to do anything because we think it's a great issue. I mean, that's truly devious.

Yeah. And the plot of that playing out was the administration, the Biden administration went to Congress and said, we need more money to increase resources at the southern border.

But they were slow on the uptick as well.

Absolutely. And there's plenty that the Biden administration could be faulted for. They go to Congress, they ask for money. That doesn't work because Republicans say no, we want to see further changes to the asylum system as we know it. The administration goes to the negotiating table, makes a series of compromises that Democrats were not comfortable making years ago. I mean, pretty significant changes just in their own orientation in this conversation, and they finally broker this deal. I mean, this isn't just a democratic effort. This is a bipartisan group in the Senate doing this before the terms of the deal are even announced. You have Mitch McConnell saying to his Senate members, listen, the politics of this, I think the phrase he used, as it was reported, was the politics have changed and the politics having changed were, Trump came out against this negotiation. And so it was very clear, I mean, a very clear calculation was made that we benefit from this situation getting worse.

It's so tough because McConnell's usually so idealistic. It's just hard to see. I was shocked. It's shocking to think, geez, self serving politics. That's not the guy I know. Everyone who is gone is here available. Jonathan Blitzer. We're going to take a quick break. Thank you so much.

I'm Dahlia Lithwick and I'm host of Amicus, Slate's podcast about the law and the US Supreme Court. We are shifting into high gear, coming at you weekly with the context you need to understand the rapidly changing legal landscape, the many trials of Donald J. Trump, judicial ethics arguments and opinions. At SCOTUS, we are tackling the big legal news with clarity and insight every single week. New amicus episodes every Saturday. Wherever you.

Before we go, we're going to check in with your host for the rest of the week, Mr. Ronnie Chang, ladies and gentlemen. So nice to see you. Big week that's coming up. You got Super Tuesday tomorrow.

Yeah, I guess.

State of the union on Thursday. Ronnie.

Yeah.

Is there something else you're planning on covering here?

Where is Kate Middleton?

Where are you, Kate?

Some people think she's dead. Some people think she got a BBL. My theory is they didn't turn the BBL machine off in time and now she's all BBL. So stop looking for Kate Milton and start looking for a princess size BBL.

It's an important story, Ronnie. Keep on that. Ronnie Chang at the desk this week, ladies and gentlemen, here it is. Your moment is end. It is nothing. In the case of Biden on Thursday, a cynical, sick political stunt by the president. And frankly, it is beyond disgraceful. We will be at the border with President Trump on Thursday. Explore more shows from the Daily show podcast universe by searching the Daily show wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount. Plus, this has been a Comedy central podcast.