live from washington, this is bbc news. president trump signs an executive order suspending the entry of migrants into the united states at the southern border with mexico in one of his first interviews since his commutation by president trump, oath keepers founder stewart rhodes speaks to the bbc. and another wildfire is rapidly growing in the los angeles area — prompting multiple evacuation orders. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. thank you forjoining us. donald trump is ordering that migrants are barred from what's described as �*physical entry�* into the us, including by claiming asylum. the proclamation invokes article 4 of the us constitution, which obliges the federal government to protect states

from foreign invasion. it comes as the us prepares to send 1,000 troops to the mexican border, after president donald trump declared the us to be under invasion by illegal immigrants. the troop movement — which was confirmed by an administration official — follows on another executive order signed by mr trump on monday. no details have been given about the planned deployment. here's our correspondent will grant with more from the border. there are some things we know and others we do not know about this troop deployment to the us southern border. first the ones that we do know. we expect it is going to be around 1000 troops being deployed. we can expect sometime in the coming days. to the border, to comply with the donald trump executive actions on border security and immigration. that has been confirmed by us officials. however, what we do not know is

exactly where along this very long and porous border those troops could be sent. 0n the one hand it could be two areas whether our ports of entry, they could be sent to support customs and border protection officials and their work of dealing with migrants as they come to the border, assessing their claims and essentially showing that there is also a military aspect and to this emergency declared at the border. the other area that could be sent to, which would also perhaps make more sense, to some of the more vulnerable spots along the border where people trafficking gangs bring migrants through and obviously those are the areas that are the most important roots, illegal roots, into the united states. all of that is yet to be made clear but certainly the sense that there will be troops along the border, that the army is going to be involved in this

effort by the trump administration sends out a message to donald trump, first to his supporters that he was going to take these actions in the first day in office and he is now doing that, and secondly, to the migrants themselves, the prospective migrants were making it to the border, it sounds a message that the now harder to cross, that the now harder to cross, that the now harder to cross, that the military are involved and they are simply not welcomed if they do not have the right paperwork. 0f welcomed if they do not have the right paperwork. of course, bearing in mind with all this, is that donald trump has declared an emergency at this us southern border but actually, at this point, the numbers are far, far lower than they were for years, partly following executive actions by the biden administration before he left office, which brought down the numbers from where they were in december 2023 to this point. i've been speaking about the impacts of the newest immigration policy with mary meg mccarthy, executive director of the national immigrant justice center.

ijust want i just want to start by getting your thoughts on the latest that we have seen from donald trump sending 1500 ground troops along with aircraft support to the us mexico border as part of this immigration crackdown. i think it is very concerning. the president is talking about invaders and the reality is that these individuals who are seeking asylum, who are fleeing danger and persecution in their home countries, who are entitled, under us and international law, decades—long laws that provide protection for them, and allow them to enter the united states. it is very concerning that he has declared this a border emergency, when it is not an emergency. we have one of the lowest number of people entering the country right now, seeking asylum, and if there are so many limitations to people's ability to even perceive and seek asylum.

nevertheless, members of congress on both sides of congress on both sides of the aile we have spoken to, have it is clear that the immigration system and even asylum system is broken. would you agree that the ability to in an orderly way process immigration, particularly centring on the southern border, is not working at the moment? i think it has improved lately and i think there are solutions but it is not closing the border. there are resolution is to provide people access to the united states, to have a determination made about their case and ability to pursue asylum with a lawyer that we can implement. but we just have not done it and instead, we are now calling people, children, who are fleeing danger, invaders. when that is so far from the truth. what we have also heard is that the asylum system is being abused by members of violent cartels

who have come into the country alongside some of those who are seeking protection, as you said. is that something you have seen? no, we have not seen that because there is a process right now, even at the border, where those individuals will be fingerprinted and checked. what i am worried about are individuals who are fleeing those cartels and seeking protection into the united states, they may now be labelled as terrorists because of the terrorist activity in their home country from which they are fleeing. should there not be a legal paper for those people who are fleeing violence or persecution at home? absolutely. and the past administration did try that, with the cubans, the haitians, the nicaraguans, venezuelans, did have a path to seek protection, a lawful path. that was cancelled by this

administration on monday. more generally, looking at the immigration orders that we have seen from the president, shutting down the border and declaring this national emergency, what do you think is going to happen in terms of immigration policy going forward in the us? do you see any avenue for providing or looking for those legal pathways? i looking for those legal pathways?— looking for those legal athwa s? . pathways? i am hopeful. i think it _ pathways? i am hopeful. | think it is _ pathways? i am hopeful. i think it is going - pathways? i am hopeful. i think it is going to - pathways? i am hopeful. i i think it is going to require a lot of challenges and, the courts to intervene. again, as i have said, we have decades long of us and international law that has recognised asylum seekers, including children, who are in harm's way and in need of legal protection. this goes back to world war ii, when we provided protection for those who were fleeing the war. and if that was the beginning of a refugee

protocol and the us signed the refugee act in 1980. what is happening today with these executive orders is that they are violating both our own domestic laws and international laws and international laws and international laws and that is not what this country stands for. we have to leave it there for today but thank you so much for joining us on bbc news.- joining us on bbc news. thank ou ve joining us on bbc news. thank you very much- _ us president donald trump has urged russia's vladimir putin to make a deal to end the "ridiculous" ukraine war or face new tariffs and sanctions. in a post on social media, president trump said, "we can do it the easy way, or the hard way". russian ambassador to the un dmitry polyanskiy responded saying, "we have to see what does the �*deal�* mean?" here's our north america editor sarah smith. applause donald trump has enormous ambitions that include ending the wars in the middle east and ukraine. my proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. that's what i want to be.

he had claimed that on his first day in office he would end the ukraine war. 0bviously that didn't happen, but he is making clear he wants to see a peace deal asap, threatening that russia will pay a high price if they don't enter negotiations. he posted on social media... meeting mr trump in new york just after the election, ukrainian leader volodymyr zelensky said he thinks the new president could be decisive in ending the war, and he knows he really has no choice but to start negotiating. zelensky wants to make a deal. i don't know if putin does, he might not, i don't know. he should make a deal. i think he's destroying russia by not making a deal. president trump used to boast about his great relationship with vladimir putin and insists russia would not have invaded ukraine if he had still been in the white house. but now he seems to be

rapidly losing patience. without american—supplied weapons, ukraine could not continue their fight. mr trump had said he would stop paying for ukraine's defence, but hasn't yet moved to cut their funding. he does think, though, america is paying too much compared to other nations. one thing i do feel, the european union should be paying a lot more than they're paying, because under biden, i mean, we're in there for $200 billion more. now, it affects them more than it affects us. we have an ocean in between, right? a little thing called an ocean. 0n america's southern border, donald trump has introduced strict new immigration laws that have banned refugees and asylum claimants from entering the us. last year, he said he would close the border. now he's sending 1,500 troops to stop what he calls "an invasion of aliens". and he's changed the law to make it easier to detain and deport illegal immigrants already in the united states. critics call his new policies harsh and unfair. he says he's simply keeping the promises that got him elected.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: a 12—year—old boy who was stabbed to death on his way home from school on tuesday in birmingham has been named as leo ross. his family described him as: "the most beautiful kind child" who "had not one aggressive bone in his body". a 14—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder. a 26—year—old man who shot and killed his ex—girlfriend and her sister with a crossbow and stabbed their mother to death has pleaded guilty to their murders. kyle clifford attacked carol hunt and her daughters, louise and hannah, who were the wife and daughters of the bbc racing commentator, john hunt, at the family home in hertfordshire last summer. the chancellor says she's optimistic about the economy, despite government borrowing rising by more than expected last month. the figure of almost £18 billion is the highest for december in four years. rachel reeves is in

switzerland, where she is trying to attract investors to the uk. rachel reeves is in switzerland, at davos, you're live with bbc news. president trump has sought to justify his decision to pardon more than 1500 supporters who stormed the us capitol building four years ago. he's described their punishments as "ridiculous and excessive". asked whether people who attacked law enforcement officers should be held to account, mr trump agreed, but said their sentences could be commuted. a policeman who was on duty during the insurrection has described the pardons as a �*slap in the face'. one of those whose sentence was commuted is the founder of the far—right 0ath keepers' group, stewart rhodes. he was being held in a federal correctional institute in cumberland, maryland, when clemency was handed down. he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for sedition. my colleague christian fraser has been following the story and spoke to him.

do you still lead the 0ath keepers? ijust got out of prison and we will see what the future holds. i have been advocating for the other brothers who have not been released despite having departed. it is ridiculous they are waiting two or three days waiting to be turned loose. i am gratefulfor waiting to be turned loose. i am grateful for president trump are doing the right thing. he has unwound and rewound. they have been unjustly held and unlawfully imprisoned. we are . iven unlawfully imprisoned. we are civen a unlawfully imprisoned. we are given a pardon? _ unlawfully imprisoned. we are given a pardon? i— unlawfully imprisoned. we are given a pardon? i was- unlawfully imprisoned. we are given a pardon? i was given i unlawfully imprisoned. we are given a pardon? i was given a | given a pardon? i was given a commutation _ given a pardon? i was given a commutation of— given a pardon? i was given a commutation of sentence. . given a pardon? i was given a commutation of sentence. so j given a pardon? i was given a - commutation of sentence. so you are still guilty _ commutation of sentence. so you are still guilty of— commutation of sentence. so you are still guilty of sedition? - commutation of sentence. so you are still guilty of sedition? i - are still guilty of sedition? i was found guilty in a jewry trial which was very biased, made up of people from the victim pull in dc. they insisted on pulling thejury

from that pool of people. if you want accused of robbing a shop and you had the people from the shop on thejuric which is ridiculous... from the shop on the juric which is ridiculous... which is a oint which is ridiculous... which is a point donald _ which is ridiculous... which is a point donald trump - which is ridiculous... which is a point donald trump made l which is ridiculous... which is . a point donald trump made from the oval office. if i register some of the evidence you gave to the fbi, how should a jury interpret this, you said my only regret is they should have brought rivals, we should have brought rivals, we should have brought rifles, fixed it right there and then. i would hang nancy pelosi from a lamppost "i was frustrated that president trump are not invited the insurrection act. i trump are not invited the insurrection act.- trump are not invited the insurrection act. i wanted him to declassify _ insurrection act. i wanted him to declassify any _ insurrection act. i wanted him to declassify any of _ insurrection act. i wanted him to declassify any of the - to declassify any of the secrets held by the cia, nsa, fbi etc of the corruption. that is how they protect the people in dc and the establishment. the swamp water is whether swamp creatures swim in. as long as they play the game,

they are protective. step out of line and they can be exposed everyone and i to see him use declassification. i was frustrated about that. i said that after the fact. it frustrated about that. i said that after the fact.- that after the fact. it is free-speech. .. - that after the fact. it is free-speech. .. what . that after the fact. it is. free-speech. .. what did that after the fact. it is - free-speech. .. what did you free—speech... what did you intend to do with the rifles you brought to the capitol? irate you brought to the capitol? we did not you brought to the capitol? - did not bring rifles to the capitol, we left our weapons in our hotel in virginia. as a free american and veteran i always wear a concealed every day of our life... did always wear a concealed every day of our life. . ._ day of our life... did you carry concealed - day of our life... did you carry concealed into - day of our life... did you carry concealed into the | carry concealed into the capitol?— carry concealed into the ca-itol? ., ., ., carry concealed into the ca itol? ., ., ., ., capitol? no, did not. you have to let me _ capitol? no, did not. you have to let me finish _ capitol? no, did not. you have to let me finish my _ capitol? no, did not. you have to let me finish my answer. - capitol? no, did not. you have to let me finish my answer. i i to let me finish my answer. i drove from texas or the way to virginia to get a hotel room and then go through security on capitol ground. we left outcomes in our hotel responsibly and did not bring them to the capitol. irrespective of whether you brought arms into the capitol, the us districtjudge, timothy

kelly who delivered centres on him said the date broke out tradition of busily transferring power, the mob brought an entire branch of government to heal. whatever you