President Donald Trump has made significant strides in sealing off the southern border of the U.S. and has kicked off an extensive deportation initiative throughout 2025.
Upon reclaiming the White House in January, Trump wasted no time in executing a range of executive orders designed to bolster security at the U.S.-Mexico border and equip immigration authorities for large-scale sweeps. This resulted in over 2 million illegal immigrants departing from the southern border, marking the lowest number recorded historically.
Since Trump resumed presidency on January 21, there have been 117,105 raids along the border. Data from Customs and Border Protection does not encompass December figures, but to provide some context, the Biden administration previously averaged about 185,625 encounters each month.
“In just a few weeks, the Trump administration has succeeded in giving the American people the gift of the most secure border since Eisenhower was president,” Matt O’Brien, deputy executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that supports lower immigration levels, remarked.
Trump also declared a national emergency at the southern border, enabling additional federal resources, including military support, to be deployed. He threatened Mexico with severe tariffs unless the country took further action. This led to stricter border security measures and prompted President Claudia Sheinbaum to send thousands of troops to the region.
The Trump administration also discontinued the CBP One App, previously in use under President Biden’s administration, which had permitted nearly 1 million asylum seekers to enter the country and complicated the process for others seeking to reach the border.
These actions collectively resulted in a remarkable decrease in activity at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Since the start of Trump’s second term, Border Patrol’s monthly apprehensions have averaged under 10,000, a standard set by the administration that is described as “unparalleled in the history of modern borders.” The practice of catch-and-release has effectively ceased, with no illegal entries reported for the past seven months.
“In less than a year, President Trump has accomplished some of the most historic and consequential milestones ever seen, and this administration is just getting rolling,” stated Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are prioritizing American safety and interests.”
Domestic immigration enforcement has surged, as the southern border activity has reached record lows. The administration aims for an ambitious target of 3,000 daily arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has frequently surpassed 2,000 arrests per day.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, over 622,000 illegal immigrants have been deported since Trump’s second term began, with an additional 1.9 million choosing voluntary deportation, attracted by significant financial incentives.
Notably, many of the illegal immigrants arrested were taken during focused operations in various sanctuary cities. This includes initiatives like Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago and enhanced raids in areas such as Los Angeles. The DHS has improved its effectiveness through the establishment of more than 1,000 new partnerships with local and state law enforcement agencies.
The combination of drastically lowered border crossings and consistent deportations has led the U.S. to experience net negative immigration for the first time in 50 years, something the White House sees as a significant achievement, framing it as a fulfillment of a campaign promise to resolve the border crisis that began under the Biden administration.
“Consequently, public safety, national security, and economic opportunities are now aligned with the interests of the American people like never before,” O’Brien noted.
