State Department Briefing: Border Crossing Declines, Pahalgam Condemnation, and Ukraine Pathway, April 24, 2025

Name: "State Department Briefing: Border Crossing Declines, Pahalgam Condemnation, and Ukraine Pathway, April 24, 2025"
Uploaded: 2025-04-24
Duration: 37 min 21 s
Description: "Spokesperson Tammy Bruce reported southwest border crossings down 94 percent and Darién crossings down 99.5 percent year over year, condemned the Pahalgam attack, and relayed the administration's Ukraine position, according to the State Department broadcast."

April 24, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 0:37:21

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce led the department press briefing on April 24, 2025, according to the State Department broadcast. Bruce conveyed condolences on the death of Pope Francis on behalf of the department and said Secretary of State Marco Rubio is united in prayer with Catholics worldwide, as stated in the briefing. She condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, said the United States stands with India, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, according to her remarks.

Bruce then presented border results under what she called the administration’s America First border security strategy: illegal crossings at the southwest border dropped 94 percent in March 2025 compared with March of the prior year, and crossings through the Darién fell 99.5 percent over the same period, as stated in the briefing. She said Panama reported encounters of migrants returning south were 10 times higher than those heading north, and she urged regional governments to strengthen border security and accept deported nationals, according to her remarks.

On the Russia-Ukraine war, Bruce relayed Secretary Rubio’s statement from the Oval Office that “this war is endable — both sides just have to agree to it” and that the U.S. has shown both sides a pathway forward, as stated in the briefing. In later questioning she discussed the State Department reorganization, saying change decisions sit with the secretaries and reflect the administration’s view that the federal budget and debt are unsustainable, and she restated the administration’s “bright line” on Iran: a nuclear weapon is not acceptable, according to the exchange.

Why it matters

The briefing’s headline is the border scoreboard — 94 percent and 99.5 percent declines presented as validation of the enforcement-and-deterrence strategy — delivered from the State Department podium as a regional diplomacy result, not only a domestic one.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Department of State Press Briefing - April 24, 2025”, 2025-04-24 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-04-24). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.