Ximena Bustillo Ximena Bustillo is a multi-platform reporter at NPR covering politics and policy in Washington related to DHS and immigration.
Headshot of Ximena Bustillo
Stories By

Ximena Bustillo

Montana Monardes/Courtesy of Ximena Bustillo
Headshot of Ximena Bustillo
Montana Monardes/Courtesy of Ximena Bustillo

Ximena Bustillo

Homeland Security Department and Immigration Policy Reporter, Washington Desk

Ximena Bustillo is a multi-platform reporter at NPR covering politics and policy in Washington related to DHS and immigration.

On air and in print, Bustillo has covered the full gamut of American politics at NPR: From award-winning stories on farm labor and agriculture politics and crisscrossing the country speaking to voters deciding the 2024 election, to leading the network's coverage of President Trump's criminal trial in New York City. Her stories, which can be centered in places like the echoey halls of Congress or the sandy sidewalks of Arizona alike, aim to show readers the connection between the policies in the Beltway and their daily lives. 

Before joining NPR, she was an award-winning food and agriculture policy reporter and newsletter author at POLITICO covering immigration, climate, labor, supply chain and equity issues.

Bustillo got her start in journalism at the Idaho Statesman where she helped spearhead the state's Spanish-language coronavirus news coverage through articles and public web forums.

She is a graduate of Boise State University.

She can be reached via encrypted message on Signal at ximenabustillo.77.

Story Archive

Thursday

President Donald Trump listens before a luncheon with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Brandon/AP

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks to the media before she enters federal court on April 15, 2025 in Greenbelt, Md. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Tuesday

President Trump meets with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the Oval Office on April 14. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Judge demands to know if White House is helping return wrongly deported Maryland man

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5366017/nx-s1-5427855-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

President Donald Trump, left, greets El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele as Bukele arrives at the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

An asylum seeker reacts while waiting for news on her appointment with U.S. authorities before crossing through El Chaparral port in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on Jan. 20, 2025. Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images

Monday

A woman who asked that we use only her first initial, S., says her family already got their U.S.-born children their American passports so that if they go back to El Salvador, the kids can return to the U.S. eventually. Jasmine Garsd/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Jasmine Garsd/NPR

Self deportation

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5323918/nx-s1-5417294-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

President Trump speaks at the Justice Department on March 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Shortage of immigration judges could slow down Trump deportation goals

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5335523/nx-s1-5417169-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Brandon/AP

NPR spoke to immigration experts and lawyers and reviewed government documents to break down the steps of the U.S. deportation process and its cost. Ana Galvañ for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Ana Galvañ for NPR

How the Trump administration is sidestepping the legal process for deportations

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5308051/nx-s1-5411786-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

How the Trump administration is sidestepping the legal process for deportations

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5349465/nx-s1-5411786-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, guards escort a newly admitted inmate inside a cell at CECOT on March 16, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. Handout/Salvadoran Government via Getty hide caption

toggle caption
Handout/Salvadoran Government via Getty

Trump administration admits Maryland man sent to El Salvador prison by mistake

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5347427/nx-s1-5410067-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Miembros del ejército salvadoreño hacen guardia en la prisión CECOT en Tecoluca, El Salvador, el 16 de marzo. La administración Trump deportó a presuntos miembros de la pandilla Tren de Aragua y otros migrantes a El Salvador. Gobierno salvadoreño/vía Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Gobierno salvadoreño/vía Getty Images

Monday

Members of the Salvadoran army stand guard at the CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 16. The Trump administration deported alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang and others to El Salvador. Salvadoran government/via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Salvadoran government/via Getty Images

Saturday

Friday

More than 250 people the U.S. government says are foreign gang members arrived in El Salvador by plane on March 16, where El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele confirmed they will be sent to the country's mega-prison CECOT. El Salvador Presidency/Handout hide caption

toggle caption
El Salvador Presidency/Handout

Court hearing to test legality of deportations under 18th century law

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5335532/nx-s1-5398394-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

The U.S. Supreme Court is shown March 17, 2025 in Washington, DC. A federal judge is asking the government for proof that it complied to his order in its deportation of more than 200 alleged Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1789. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Wednesday

Monday

President Donald Trump listens as Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Brandon/AP

What is the Alien Enemies Act?

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1239050330/1268018935" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

President Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday in Washington, D.C. On Saturday, Trump invoked a 1790s law declaring members of Tren de Aragua to be alien enemies for immediate detention and removal from the U.S. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Tuesday

Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil is on the Columbia University campus in New York at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on Monday, April 29, 2024. Ted Shaffrey/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Ted Shaffrey/AP

Columbia University faculty members hold a pro-Palestinian and pro-free speech rally on the Columbia University campus in 2023 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Monday

Pro-Palestinian supporters, including Mahmoud Khalil (second from left), demonstrate during a protest at Columbia University in New York in October 2023. Yuki Iwamura/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Yuki Iwamura/AP

Arrest of pro-Palestinian protester shows escalation in Trump deportation efforts

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5323166/nx-s1-5386118-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">