A key part of Trump’s plans as president is mass deportation, which the panellists are tackling next.

Mehdi Hasan, who as a reminder is a political commentator, says Trump’s plan to deport millions of people is not possible.

But the former president’s adviser, Bryan Lanza, says “it’s not gonna happen all overnight” and that it will be a “phase-in approach”.

The BBC's North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher says Trump has been clear that he wants to “deport everyone” but will start with criminals.

But these mass deportations, he says, “they’re not gonna happen, full stop".

Still on the issue of immigration, there's disagreement on Question Time now between host Fiona Bruce, Trump adviser Bryan Lanza and Republican Pennsylvania state representative Martina White.

Trump has said in the past he wants to “seal” the US's border against new arrivals, Bruce says, asking White what she thinks of this pledge. But White disagrees that this means to literally seal the border, arguing that Trump means to “secure the border”.

Bruce: “It’s black and white, it says 'seal the border."

White: “That means to secure our literal borders."

Bruce: “Seal the border means let nobody in."

White: “No, no."

Bruce: “So he’s using the wrong word?”

White: “I think that he uses it properly."

Lanza then interrupts to say it is not “difficult to understand” that the phrase means “seal from illegal aliens coming in" - repeating a phrase Trump often uses to describe undocumented migrants.

An audience member moves the conversation along and asks:"What is going to be done to improve the US immigration system?"

Kenyatta, a Democrat, is first to answer. “We are a nation of immigrants,” he says, and the country deserves an “orderly” immigration system.

The host Fiona Bruce cuts in to say that illegal and undocumented immigration under the Biden administration has been higher on average than the Trump administration.

But Kenyatta says he would "quibble" with some of the numbers put before him. "Let’s deal with the question," Bruce quips back.

Border crossings have come down in the last few months, Kenyatta replies, but an act of Congress is what is needed to stop this.

Republican Martina White interjects, saying illegal immigration is a “major disaster” under the Biden-Harris administration.

Things just got a little bit tense between host Fiona Bruce and Republican Martina White.

White is pushed, after defending Trump's character, on whether she is "bothered" that Trump is a convicted criminal.

A moment of silence follows, before White pivots to talking about President Biden.

Bruce persists and asks the question again - saying she's not quite sure of White's stance.

“There are a lot of convicted criminals who have been brought back into society and can do great things,” White replies. And on Trump’s crimes, she says this has been an “attack, utilising our justice system”.

The debate over a candidate's character is still going - most of it has focused on Donald Trump so far.

Martina White, a Republican in Pennsylvania’s general assembly, is brought in now and says character “absolutely” matters - especially as it impacts policy.

“When it comes to political figures, can you trust them to do what they say they are going to do?” she asks, and states that Trump did what he promised.

She suggests Trump, while in office last time, "did what he promised to do".

"Trump is not a politician," a woman in the audience says to the panel, arguing that the former president does care about Americans.

The election is too much about character, she goes, defending Trump. She adds that he gets too much criticism.

Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democratic state representative in Pennsylvania, responds that it is clear to him “every single day” that Trump does not care about America and its citizens.

He cites Trump’s wealth, including his ownership of a private jet, and says the former president still “whines and cries”.

The US is in a position where people “have to be honest with ourselves”, he adds.

Audience member Robert Arnold kicks things off by asking "how much consideration should voters give to a candidate's character?"

Donald Trump’s adviser Bryan Lanza is first to answer - “character matters”, he says, especially when you’re making a commitment to vote for someone.

He says you should hold the president accountable for the commitments they make.

But journalist and political commentator Mehdi Hasan says polls show that Republicans often think character does not matter.

He outlines controversies surrounding Trump, including sexual abuse allegations and lawsuits.

Question Time host Fiona Bruce is moderating the panel, which includes:

• North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher
• Bryan Lanza, campaign adviser to Donald Trump
• Mehdi Hasan, British-American commentator
• Martina White, Republican Pennsylvania state representative
• Malcolm Kenyatta, Democratic Pennsylvania state representative

The broadcast of our hour-long special has begun.

You can click the Watch live button at the top of this page and follow along with our posts for key moments.

UK audiences can also watch on BBC One and iPlayer, while global audiences can also watch on the BBC News channel.

Stay tuned for updates.

Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania in 2020 came down to just 80,000 votes, despite about 7 million being cast.

The polls currently suggest the race could be even closer in 2024, so it’s no surprise both the Republicans and Democrats are throwing more money into the state than anywhere else.

According to data compiled by research firm AdImpact, $1bn (£766m) worth of political ads were aired in the seven swing states between 22 July and 8 October - with 21% of that being spent in Pennsylvania.

The Harris campaign has outspent their rivals by nearly $160m to $120m in Pennsylvania since the vice president replaced Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket.

• Get up to speed with what issues the campaigns have been focusing on in their ads and how voters in the state feel about being bombarded by them

Sam Hancock
Live page editor, in Washington DC

There are less than 15 minutes to go until our special edition of Question Time, the BBC's flagship political debate programme in the UK, airs. It's the first time the show has been in America since 2008.

The episode was filmed last night in the key swing state of Pennsylvania - see our last post if you want to know more about the area - and is airing today at 16:00 ET (21:00 BST).

We'll have a live stream at the top of this page, which will appear at that time.

Over the next hour or so, we're going to bring you real-time updates from the pre-recorded programme.

Afterwards, we'll hear what audience members made of the debate from our reporter Ana Faguy who was there when it was filmed. She and our colleague Rachel Looker have also been on the ground, in different areas of the state, speaking to voters - expect to hear more from them too.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest.

Ahead of our Question Time election special - filmed last night in Pennsylvania - let's take a look at the swing state many believe is key to winning the White House.

Here’s all you need to know.

• Famous for: the Liberty Bell, Will Smith and the 72 "Rocky Steps", Pennsylvania is one of seven states that will decide the 2024 US presidential election
• Population: 12.97m, the same as Russian capital Moscow

• Electoral college votes: 19 of 538
• In a nutshell: It’s hard to win the White House without Pennsylvania, which carries the most electoral votes of all the swing states
• 2020 margin: Biden by 82,000 votes

The expert view?

"Pennsylvania is a coin flip at this point,” says Dan Mallison, associate professor of public policy and administration at Penn State University.

The state went to Democrats for the last 20 years before Trump won in 2016. The south-eastern part, which includes Philadelphia and its suburban counties, are key for Democrats to gather enough votes to win.

Pennsylvania’s mix of urban and rural populations make it a competitive state for both presidential candidates, says Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.

"It's not overwhelmingly leaning to one of the two parties, either Republican or Democrat," Mallison explains. "That makes it particularly coveted.”

As we've mentioned already, a special US election episode of the BBC's Question Time programme is being aired in about half an hour.

It was recorded in the key swing state of Pennsylvania - the significance of which our next few posts will look at in more detail.

As a reminder, you’ll be able to watch the hour-long special right here - you'll just need to tap the Watch Live button at the top of this page when it appears in the next 15-20 minutes.

UK audiences can also watch on BBC One and iPlayer, while global audiences can also watch on the BBC News channel.

We just heard what Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's been doing and saying on a campaign stop in Michigan - now let's look at what the other side is up to.

We know that Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, is in Nevada - another swing state - where she landed last night. We've not yet seen any images of the campaign stops she's been making, but will bring you them when we do. The vice-president is due to move on to Arizona next.

Her husband, meanwhile, has been in Georgia speaking at an Atlanta Pride event. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff was joined by the likes of Hollywood actress Julia Roberts.

Here's what we're seeing:

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Detroit

Image source, Getty Images

Away from Pennsylvania, where a lot of today's action is happening, Donald Trump's been addressing a crowd for over an hour in Detroit, Michigan, about a wide range of topics from voting rules to tariffs on China.

Much of his speech in one of the seven swing states of this election has focused on his claims that the US auto industry is failing - a part of his broader message that the country's economy is suffering.

"They're destroying our country," he says of the Biden-Harris administration, blaming the president and vice-president for failing auto workers and claiming too many job shave been moved to Mexico.

The Republican presidential hopeful also announces parts of a plan to re-energise the automotive industry, including tax and car loan benefits, and touches on more personal stories - shouting out a member of the crowd who turns out to be the father of his daughter Tiffany's husband, Michael Boulos.

"He happens to be the father of Tiffany's husband, Michael, who's a very exceptional young guy," Trump says. "And she's an exceptional young woman. And she's going to have a baby. So that's nice."

It’s a Thursday night tradition on British television screens and we’re bringing it back to the US for the first time since 2008.

Question Time is a unique panel discussion which first aired in 1979.

A panel of politicians, pundits and the occasional celebrity with political views takes questions from an audience selected to reflect a broad spectrum of opinion.

It’s a somewhat more freewheeling format than a traditional town hall, with the audience often invited to give their own thoughts on the issues of the day – and on the answers provided by the panelists.

On Wednesday our US special edition was recorded at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Question Time host Fiona Bruce moderated and the panel included our North America Correspondent Anthony Zurcher, Republican and Democratic members of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, Martina White and Malcolm Kenyatta; British-American commentator Mehdi Hasan; and Bryan Lanza, an adviser to Donald Trump.

You can watch the broadcast on this page at 16:00 Eastern Time (20:00 GMT). Viewers in the UK will be able to view on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. If you’re in the US you can catch it on the BBC app, BBC News on TV and streaming services, the BBC News YouTube channel or on radio, via the BBC World Service.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Detroit

Trump is speaking here in Detroit, where he was met with a long applause from the packed crowd.

He started his speech by mentioning the victims of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida last night.

He said the federal government "has not done what they're supposed to be doing" in terms of responding to the storm.

He then turned to the economy, talking about inflation, which he claims was two times higher than expected this month.

Last month, US inflation reached its lowest point since February 2021, according to the Labour Department.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Pennsylvania

I’m now at Mercyhurst University - one of several colleges in the Erie area- where I've been speaking to several students about their thoughts on the 2024 election.

One political science student, Nicholas Ramm, 22, will be casting a ballot in Erie County for former President Donald Trump.

Ramm tells me the most important issue to him is healthcare. He has concerns about what could happen if a universal health care plan is enacted.

"I guess you could say I’m voting against policies, not so much voting for policies," he says.

• For context: Trump hasn’t been very clear on how he would reform the healthcare system, saying during the last presidential debate he has "concepts of a plan" to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from the Obama administration. Harris has indicated she wants to grow and expand the ACA, which does not provide universal healthcare in the US.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Detroit

We've just received a copy of Trump's prepared remarks for his speech at the Detroit Economic Club, where he will talk about his "detailed plan" to "save" the auto industry.

Trump has already shared some details of the proposal during his previous campaign stops, but parts of it include allowing domestic carmakers to write off 100% of the cost of heavy machinery in their first year and "fully expensing" new manufacturing investments to help build new plants.

He also wants to make interest on car loans fully tax deductible like mortgage interest.

"My goal is to see U.S. Auto Manufacturing even greater than when it was in its prime, and for Detroit and Michigan to be at the center of the action," Trump plans to say.

Question Time is coming to America and today the BBC’s flagship political debate programme is heading to the key battleground state of Pennsylvania ahead of November’s presidential election.

Presented by Fiona Bruce, the debate was recorded on Wednesday night at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, with a local audience of voters and a panel of politicians and prominent commentators.

It's being aired today and you'll be able to watch the show on this page at 16:00 EST (21:00 BST), we’ll also be bringing you live text updates and analysis too on the debate.

UK audiences can watch on BBC One and iPlayer, while global audiences can watch on the BBC News channel.