Fact checking Trump's 2026 State of the Union address

CBS News is fact checking President Trump's 2026 State of the Union address. Politics Fact checking Trump's 2026 State of the Union address By Laura Doan, Laura Doan Fact Checker, CBS News Confirmed Laura Doan is a fact checker for CBS News Confirmed. She covers misinformation, AI and social media. Read Full Bio Laura Doan, Aaron Navarro, Aaron Navarro Digital Reporter Aaron Navarro is a CBS News digital reporter. He covered the 2024 elections and was previously an associate producer for the CBS News political unit in the 2021 and 2022 election cycles. Read Full Bio Aaron Navarro, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Camilo Montoya-Galvez Immigration Correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple programs and platforms, including national broadcast shows, CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and the organization's social media accounts. Read Full Bio Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Emma Li Emma Li Emma Li is a fact checker for CBS News Confirmed. She combines open-source techniques with traditional reporting to fact check misinformation and verify user-generated content. Contact Emma at [email protected]. Read Full Bio Emma Li Updated on: February 24, 2026 / 9:49 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google CBS News is fact checking President Trump's 2026 State of the Union address Tuesday night. The president is touting his first-year accomplishments and plans for his agenda this year, in the months before the midterm elections in November. Here are some of the claims the president made during his speech, and CBS News' ratings and context for those claims:True: Trump claims murder rate saw its largest decline in recorded history last year"Last year, the murder rate saw its single largest decline in recorded history. This is the biggest decline, think of it, in recorded history — the lowest number in over 125 years."Details: Preliminary data from independent researchers suggests that homicides may have hit an 125-year low last year, although the FBI's official annual crime report for 2025 will not be released until later this year.A January study by the Council on Criminal Justice, or CCJ, found a "strong possibility" that the 2025 homicide rate will drop to about 4 per 100,000 residents, which would be the lowest recorded in law enforcement or public health data dating back to 1900. The homicide rate has been declining since 2022, according to annual FBI reports.The CCJ report also noted that the reasons for last year's decline are not clear, but researchers say possible influences include "changes in criminal justice policies and programs, shifts in the use of technology, and broader social, economic, and cultural trends."By Laura DoanPartially true: Trump claims that in the past 9 months, no illegal immigrants have been admitted into the U.S."In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States."Details: Mr. Trump is likely referring to the number of migrants released by Border Patrol after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.Over the past nine months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported zero releases of migrants by Border Patrol along the U.S. southern border.That does not necessarily mean every single migrant who has entered the U.S. illegally since Mr. Trump took office has been deported.Some migrants initially arrested by Border Patrol and then transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement could be released by that agency, though the Trump administration has sought to bar those who entered the U.S. illegally from being eligible for bond. Border Patrol's numbers also do not account for migrants who enter the U.S. illegally surreptitiously, without being caught by Border Patrol agents. It's unclear how many of those so-called "got-aways" have been recorded under the second Trump administration.Overall, illegal border crossings have plummeted under Mr. Trump's second administration, falling to the lowest level since 1970 in fiscal year 2025. Still, thousands of migrants continue crossing into the U.S. illegally each month. In January, Border Patrol apprehended roughly 6,000 migrants after they crossed the southern border unlawfully, government data show.By Camilo Montoya-GalvezMisleading: Trump claims more Americans working today than at any time in U.S. history "More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country. Think about that — any time in the history of our country, more working today. And 100% of all jobs created under my administration have been in the private sector."Details: Preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics show there are roughly 158.6 million people employed in the U.S., as of January 2026, which is more than at any other point on record. But the total number of employed people usually rises as the population grows. About 157 million people were employed when President Joe Biden left office in January 2025.Economists generally rely on the share of people working to compare labor market st