No president in U.S. history has staked as much of his administration on fighting immigration as Donald J. Trump. This chart my colleague David Montgomery whipped up offers just one glimpse into that: It shows how often each president has used immigration-related words in annual State of Union speeches. Trump’s attention to the topic, which was on display again last night, towers over his 44 predecessors.
It’s not a surprise. Combating immigration was the number-one issue during Trump’s presidential campaign, and since he has taken office, this has been an arena in which he has arguably been most productive, as far as succeeding in turning his rhetoric into policies that have affected the lives of millions of people.
