State of the Union updates: Trump spars with Dems, touts economy and immigration

TRUMP CLAIM: "In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States."

FACT CHECK: False, but crossings are down drastically

After using executive authority to enforce a series of restrictive policy measures at the southern border, the Trump administration has severely decreased the number of people who crossed the border illegally, down from the record highs of the Biden administration.

According to the data collected by Customs and Border Protection, in 2024, the last full year of Biden's presidency, there were over 1.5 million encounters with migrants attempting to illegally cross the border. In 2025, the first full year of Trump's second term in office, that number dropped to just under 28,000.

Those low trends continue in 2026, but have never been at "zero" as the president has often suggested. The numbers suggest migrants are still attempting to cross the border, and it would be impossible to know if any had gone through unnoticed.

They typically start the day as low-profile Cabinet secretaries. They end it that way, too, God willing.

But when the rest of the government is gathered together for a big event, like President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night, a designated survivor is kept away to ensure someone in the line of leadership succession stays alive.

The president's pick to sit out this time appeared to be Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, who was also chosen as the designated survivor last year for the president's address to a joint session of Congress. Collins was not seen in the chamber. The White House did not immediately confirm he was chosen.

While touting his accomplishments, Trump said, "We ended DEI in America" -- referring to diversity, equity and inclusion practices, a frequent target of his administration.

Trump said they got a record number of "job-killing regulations" and decreased the number of people on food stamps by 2.4 million.

The USA women's hockey team - who, like their male counterparts were champions at the recent Olympics in Milano-Cortina - will get their due from Washington soon.

The women's team had declined an invitation from Trump to attend Tuesday's State of the Union, due to the timing of the address.

As the gold medal-winning men's team made their appearance during the speech, Trump announced that the women's team "will soon be coming to the White House."