U.S. immigration authorities have reached a new milestone of removing more than 2 million illegal immigrants from the United States since President Donald Trump took office, as his administration vowed to end illegal immigration.
Delivering one of Trump’s key campaign promises, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Sept. 23 that in less than 250 days, they have shattered its original goal of deporting 600,000 by the end of his first year.
That figure includes an estimated 1.6 million illegal immigrants who voluntarily self-deported, and more than 400,000 who were removed.
“Ramped-up immigration enforcement targeting the worst of the worst is removing more and more criminal illegal aliens off our streets every day,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
In March, DHS launched a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home app, which included a self-deportation tool.
Enthusiasm in the nation to rally behind Trump’s vision seems to be high, as the U.S. Border Patrol also saw the highest number of job applicants in its history at the beginning of the year, receiving 34,650 applications between January and April, a 44 percent increase over the same period the previous year.
On Sept. 19, DHS announced that there had been no parole releases at the border for four consecutive months, compared to more than 10,000 in August 2024, and nationwide crossings were 93 percent lower, at just over 26,000 for the month, compared to 370,000 at the peak under the previous administration.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised the Border Patrol’s achievements on Aug. 8.
“This is the most secure the border has ever been,” she said in a statement.
Resolving the illegal immigration crisis, which Trump has described as an invasion, has been a cornerstone of the promises he made during the 2024 election season.
In addition, his administration continues construction efforts to complete the wall on the southern border, which was a primary focus of his previous term.
On Sept. 23, Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, defending his policy and denouncing what he called a globalist agenda of uncontrolled illegal immigration, calling it the “no.1 political issue of our time.”
Trump said the U.N. was funding the journey of illegal immigrants into the United States and, in addition, providing cash, food, shelter, transportation, and debit cards.
“It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders,” he said, accusing countries of choosing political correctness over action. “Your countries are being ruined.”
“In the United States, we reject the idea that mass numbers of people from foreign lands can be permitted to travel halfway around the world, trample our borders, violate our sovereignty, cause unmitigated crime, and deplete our social safety net,” he said.
The illegal immigration population reached a record 14 million in 2023, following two consecutive years of solid growth, increasing 3.5 million in 2021, the largest on record, according to a report by Pew Research.
Emel Akan contributed to this report.
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