Immigration

Home Immigration

Trump Administration Delivers Historic Border Security Win โ€” Lowest Apprehensions Since 1970

1
Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

The Trump administration has closed fiscal year 2025 with a historic milestone on border security โ€” the lowest U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions in more than five decades, according to preliminary enforcement data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Border agents recorded 237,565 apprehensions in fiscal year 2025 โ€” slightly above the 201,780 apprehensions in 1970 but dramatically below recent levels. The numbers represent an 87% drop compared to the average of the past four fiscal years (1.86 million apprehensions) and showcase what can happen when the federal government finally enforces immigration laws.

This achievement came even though 72% of this yearโ€™s total apprehensions happened during the final 111 days of the Biden administration โ€” before President Trump returned to office and immediately began reversing his predecessorโ€™s โ€œopen-borderโ€ policies.

โ€œFiscal year 2025 shows what happens when we enforce the law without compromise,โ€ said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. โ€œFor too long, agents and officers were handcuffed by failed policies. Today they are empowered to do their jobs โ€” and the result is the most secure border in modern history.โ€


Reversing Bidenโ€™s Border Chaos

When President Trump took office in January 2025, he inherited what many described as a border crisis fueled by Bidenโ€™s mass-release policies. In just the first 111 days of the fiscal year, under Bidenโ€™s watch, 172,026 apprehensions occurred โ€” nearly three-quarters of the yearโ€™s total.

But once Trumpโ€™s immigration directives took effect, the situation changed dramatically. Over the next 254 days, apprehensions plummeted to 65,539 โ€” just 27% of the fiscal yearโ€™s total.

September 2025 alone saw only about 279 apprehensions per day along the Southwest border โ€” a staggering 95% decline compared to the Biden-era daily average of 5,110. It also marked the fifth consecutive month of zero illegal immigrant releases by Border Patrol โ€” a stark contrast to 9,144 releases in September 2024.

Across all entry points, CBP recorded roughly 26,000 total encounters in September, down 89% from Bidenโ€™s monthly averages.


Strong Action From Day One

President Trump wasted no time taking decisive action to reestablish border control:

  • Deployed additional personnel to the southern border.
  • Ended โ€œcatch-and-releaseโ€, ensuring illegal migrants are no longer released while awaiting hearings.
  • Shut down Bidenโ€™s CBP One app parole loophole, later repurposing the app to help migrants self-deport.
  • Paused parole programs and authorized ICE to cancel parole statuses.
  • Ordered strict enforcement of existing immigration laws, restoring morale and authority to frontline border agents.

These policies stand in sharp contrast to Bidenโ€™s approach, which relied on controversial โ€œparoleโ€ programs and insisted on new legislation instead of acting on existing laws.

Report: Noem Demanded Hours-long Meeting With Trump After Sheโ€™s Sidelined

0
By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54581054338/, Public Domain,

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requested a two-hour meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office late Monday as the administration faced intensifying backlash over a deadly shooting in Minneapolis involving federal immigration agents.

The meeting came after President Trump announced that longtime border enforcement official Tom Homan would travel to Minneapolis to take charge of Department of Homeland Security efforts following the death of protester Alex Pretti during a confrontation with Border Patrol agents, according to the New York Times.

The closed-door discussion, which included several of the presidentโ€™s top aides, reflected the administrationโ€™s effort to recalibrate its response as tensions mounted across the city and criticism grew over how the incident was initially described.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem receives a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center CECOT with the Minister of Justice and Public Security Gustavo Villatoro in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

Noem came under fire after she labeled Pretti a โ€œdomestic terrorist,โ€ saying he had charged officers while brandishing a gun. However, multiple videos circulating online showed the ICU nurse holding a cellphone and attempting to flee from agents at the time of the encounter.

The administration has since faced pressure to clarify its messaging, particularly as images and video from the scene fueled protests and intensified scrutiny of federal enforcement tactics in Democrat-run cities already resistant to immigration crackdowns.

Earlier Monday, Trump said he was sending Homan โ€” a well-known hardliner on border enforcement โ€” to oversee the situation on the ground. The move sparked questions about whether the president was dissatisfied with Noemโ€™s handling of the fallout.

Despite the speculation, Trump did not indicate that Noemโ€™s job was in jeopardy during the meeting, sources told the outlet.

Separately, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and some of his agents were ordered Monday to begin pulling back from Minnesota, according to sources.

Bovino, like Noem, drew criticism for his initial assessment of the incident. He had said Pretti was brandishing a firearm and โ€œwanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,โ€ a claim later challenged by video evidence.

Amid reports suggesting internal consequences, the Trump administration pushed back against claims that Bovino had been demoted.

โ€œChief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,โ€ DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X. She added that Bovino remains a โ€œkey part of the presidentโ€™s team and a great American.โ€

Trump Taps New ICE Director

President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd after delivering remarks at the House GOP Member Retreat, Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at the Donald J. Trump- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he is nominating longtime Oklahoma law enforcement officer and Marine veteran Lance Schroyer to serve as the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), placing another ally with deep state and local law enforcement experience at the center of his administration’s immigration agenda.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Schroyer’s nearly three decades in law enforcement and described him as a leader prepared to carry out the administration’s aggressive deportation strategy.

“Lance has over 29 YEARS of Law Enforcement experience in Oklahoma,” Trump wrote. “He is a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst.”

The president also highlighted Schroyer’s background as a former Oklahoma state trooper and U.S. Marine, adding that he has “firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets.”

Trump urged the Senate to act quickly on the nomination.

“The Senate must confirm Lance Schroyer IMMEDIATELY. Do not delay,” the president wrote. “Together, we will MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”

If confirmed, Schroyer would become the first Senate-confirmed ICE director in nearly a decade. The agency has operated under a series of acting leaders since 2017, reflecting years of political battles over immigration enforcement and the role of the agency.

Schroyer most recently worked with the Department of Homeland Security on expanding ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with the federal government on immigration enforcement. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Schroyer comes “straight from the operational field,” where he led large-scale enforcement operations alongside state and federal agencies.

Mullin quickly endorsed Trump’s selection.

“President Trump made a great pick, and I’m confident Lance’s strong leadership and firsthand experience will empower the men and women of ICE to deport criminal illegal aliens, secure the homeland, and protect the American people,” Mullin wrote on X.

“It has been 11 years since @DHSgov has had a Senate confirmed @ICEgov Director. The Senate must quickly confirm Lance Schroyer.”

Schroyer would replace acting leadership that has overseen ICE during one of the agency’s busiest periods in recent history. David Venturella has served as acting director since Todd Lyons stepped down earlier this year.

The nomination comes as immigration remains one of Trump’s signature issues. The administration has made mass deportations, expanded ICE partnerships with local law enforcement and increased daily immigration arrests central pillars of its second-term agenda. Trump claimed Saturday that his administration has achieved the highest daily arrest rates by ICE and Customs and Border Protection of any presidency.

Federal Judge Blocks Trump Birthright Citizenship Order

7

A second federal judge moved to block President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship Wednesday.

Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, ruled that the order is likely unconstitutional. This marks the second time a federal court has blocked the policy. The nationwide injunction is slated to remain in place while the case is adjudicated.

Boardman said the civil rights group plaintiffs, five pregnant women whose children would not be granted citizenship under the order, were likely to succeed on the merits. The plaintiffs are represented by the CASA and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.

Trumpโ€™s executive order seeks to deny U.S. citizenship to children born in the country unless at least one parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The administration argues that children of undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders are not โ€œsubject to the jurisdictionโ€ of the United States, a reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment.

In January, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour temporarily blocked President Donald Trumpโ€˜s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, deeming the presidential directive โ€œblatantly unconstitutional.โ€ (RELATED: Republican Attorneys General Back Trumpโ€™s Executive Order On Birthright Citizenship)

Trump signed Executive Order 14156, titled Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, on his first day in office. The order seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents, but it has already encountered significant legal pushback.

Judge Coughenour issued a restraining order against its implementation, siding with several states that argued the executive action violates the 14th Amendment and contradicts long-standing Supreme Court rulings.

The executive order was set to take effect in February, marking a bold attempt to reshape the interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which has guaranteed citizenship to nearly all individuals born on U.S. soil since its ratification in 1868. Many legal experts, however, argue that any effort to alter this constitutional guarantee would require far more than an executive order.

The Supreme Court decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) affirmed that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to nearly all individuals born in the U.S., regardless of their parentsโ€™ nationality. This precedent has formed the legal backbone of birthright citizenship for over a century.

Supreme Court Allows Trump Admin To Move Ahead With Ending Protected Status For Some Migrants

1
Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

On Monday, the Supreme Court lifted an injunction against the Trump administration, allowing it to move ahead with its plans to end protections for hundreds of thousands of migrants in the U.S.

The decision is a victory for the Trump administration, allowing it to move forward with its plans to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for hundreds of thousands of people who came to the U.S. through parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. 

The TPS program provides legal status and work permits for these individuals.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Trump Officially Deports Migrant Influencer

2
Image via Pixabay

President Trump has ensured anย illegal immigrantย from Venezuela who garnered a massive online following by posting videos of him flashing stacks of cash and urging migrants to “invade” American homes and take them over under squatters’ rights laws has been deported.

Leonel Moreno, 26, told his audience he planned to make a business out of his scams.

“He has been deported,” the Trump administration announced Friday on its @RapidResponse47 X account.

In his videos, he mocked U.S. taxpayers and even other immigrants who work for a living, alternately waving stacks of hundred-dollar bills, crying, singing or posing with an infant with mucus running out of his nose.

“I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave,” Moreno said in Spanish, according to a translation of his videos. “I came to the U.S. to mark my territory.”

He bragged about raking in cash via TikTok as well as entitlement payments from U.S. taxpayers. He claimed that his family had received $350 a week in government handouts since entering the U.S. illegally and that at one point he was raking in as much as $1,000 a week with his viral videos.

“You’re hurt because I make more than you without much work while you work like slaves, understand?” he said in one of his videos. “That’s the difference between you and me. I’m always going to make lots of money without much work, and you’re always going to be exploited and miserable and insignificant.”

TikTok eventually shut down his account, which had amassed about 500,000 followers.

ICE picked him up after his online profile exploded, but he spent months in custody under theย Biden administration.ย 

Stephen Miller Reportedly Sidelined By Trump Admin.

By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54346096651/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=160407812

White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller โ€” long viewed as one of the chief architects of President Donald Trumpโ€™s hardline immigration agenda โ€” is reportedly losing influence inside the administration as other top officials gain the presidentโ€™s ear.

According to a new report from The Atlantic journalists Michael Scherer and Nick Miroff, Trump has privately expressed concern that Millerโ€™s aggressive instincts sometimes go too far, marking a notable shift for one of the presidentโ€™s most loyal and powerful longtime advisers.

The report claims Trump โ€œhas also told others in recent weeks that he understands Miller sometimes goes too far.โ€ The alleged change reportedly became more noticeable following unrest in Minneapolis and the death of protester Alex Pretti.

Trump reportedly โ€œrecognized immediately after the second killing in Minneapolis, of the protester Alex Pretti, that the policy needed to shift.โ€ Miller, however, took a far more confrontational tone, referring to Pretti as a โ€œdomestic terroristโ€ in the aftermath of the incident.

For years, Miller has been one of the most influential figures in Trumpโ€™s orbit. The former Senate aide rose to prominence during Trumpโ€™s first campaign in 2016 and quickly became the driving force behind many of the administrationโ€™s toughest immigration policies, including travel bans, refugee restrictions, and mass deportation proposals.

Unlike many Trump officials who cycled in and out of the administration, Miller built a uniquely durable relationship with the president. His fiery populist rhetoric and uncompromising stance on immigration made him a hero to many MAGA voters, while critics accused him of pushing excessively punitive policies.

But according to The Atlantic, recent months have revealed growing divisions within the administration over how aggressively to pursue Trumpโ€™s immigration crackdown.

The report states that Trump backed away from several Miller-backed initiatives after consulting with border czar Tom Homan and other officials. One major example involved a proposal to slash seasonal worker visas by 50%, a move that reportedly alarmed business interests and other administration figures.

โ€œThe new secretary is listening to Tom Homan and Rodney Scott before he is ever listening to Stephen Miller,โ€ one senior administration official told Scherer and Miroff.

Another former official summed up Millerโ€™s changing position bluntly: โ€œThe president knows who he is, period.โ€

The Atlantic also reported that while there have been no known clashes between Homan and Miller, the two men have promoted very different strategies for carrying out Trumpโ€™s mass-deportation agenda.

Miller has reportedly pushed for maximizing deportation numbers as quickly as possible, while Homan has favored a more targeted approach focused on illegal immigrants with criminal records.

โ€œThere have been no accounts of clashes or tension between Homan and Miller, and the former has even praised the latter as โ€˜one of the most brilliant people Iโ€™ve met in my entire life,โ€™โ€ the report noted.

Still, Homanโ€™s influence appears to be growing.

According to the report, the Department of Homeland Security has quietly reversed several changes Miller pushed earlier in Trumpโ€™s second term. One key example involved accelerated training for new ICE recruits.

Miller had reportedly advocated for shortening ICE academy training to roughly eight weeks in an effort to rapidly expand deportation operations. Veteran officers reportedly warned that the abbreviated training created serious concerns, especially as dropout rates surged among recruits.

โ€œIn recent weeks, ICE reverted to a four-and-a-half-month training program similar to its former academy course,โ€ the report stated, citing three officials familiar with the matter.

Despite the apparent shift, insiders told The Atlantic that Miller remains deeply embedded in Trumpโ€™s inner circle and is not expected to leave the administration anytime soon.

โ€œWhite House insiders said that Miller remains a top adviser to the president, that he has a singular relationship to Trump built over the past decade, and that his job is not in jeopardy,โ€ Scherer and Miroff reported.

The claims stand in stark contrast to earlier reporting that portrayed Miller as perhaps the single most influential policy figure in Trumpโ€™s second administration.

A bombshell report published by The New York Times in March suggested Miller had effectively become the driving force behind major Justice Department priorities.

โ€œIt was clear from the start that Mr. Miller, who is not a lawyer, would exercise control inside the department, current and former Trump aides said,โ€ the Times reported at the time.

Whether Millerโ€™s reported decline in influence proves temporary or permanent remains unclear. But the emerging picture suggests that even some of Trumpโ€™s most trusted allies are now competing for influence as the administration navigates mounting political and public pressure over immigration enforcement and domestic unrest.

Report: Trump Admin Sends Over 100 Iranians Back To Tehran In Rare Deal

2
By United States Government - https://x.com/PressSec/status/1882759560613527770, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159931598

The Trump administration has reportedly deported a planeload of more than 100 Iranians under a deal struck with the Iranian government.

Iranian officials confirmed to The New York Times that the planeload of migrants took off from Louisiana on Monday night and was expected to arrive in Iran via Qatar on Tuesday. A U.S. official also reportedly confirmed the plan to the outlet.

Monday’s round of deportations is the first step in a larger plan to deport approximately 400 Iranian nationals.

“The Trump Administration is committed to fulfilling President Trumpโ€™s promise to carry out the largest mass deportation operation of illegal aliens in history, using all the tools at our disposal,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News on Tuesday.

The deal marks a rare instance of cooperation between Tehran and the US, which saw heightened tensions in the wake of this summer’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iranian officials told The Times that the deportation deal came about after months of discussions between the two nations.

The identities of the Iranian deportees are unknown, but The Times reported that the group included men and women, some of whom were couples. The outlet also noted, citing Iranian officials, that some of the deportees volunteered to leave the U.S. after spending time in detention centers, while others were not going voluntarily.

Iranian officials also told The Times that in almost every case, the deportees either had asylum requests denied or had yet to appear before a judge for a hearing on their requests.

“We have urged the American government to respect the rights of Iranian migrants and their citizenship rights under international law. They must not be denied consular services, fair judicial process, or the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Noushabadi told Tasnim news agency.

Another official told the news agency that the individuals being deported had left Iran legally, but how they entered the U.S. was “another matter.” For decades, the U.S. had granted refuge to Iranians fleeing political repression due to the regime’s reputation for brutal human rights abuses.

READ NEXT: New York Man Charged With Murdering Parents After Stunning TV Interview Confession

Former First Lady Reveals The Trump Policy That ‘Keeps Her Awake At Night’

3
FLOTUS at Fayetteville, N.C. -The Arts Center speech Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

Former first ladyย Michelle Obamaย expressed fear over Presidentย Donald Trump’s immigration policies, saying they have kept her up at night.ย 

“Now that we have leadership that is sort of indiscriminately determining who belongs and who doesn’t,” the former first lady said Monday during an appearance on the podcast “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” adding that such deportation decisions “aren’t being made with courts and with due process.” 

“I worry for people of color all over this country, and I don’t know that we will have the advocates to protect everybody,” she continued. “And that makes me โ€ฆ that frightens me. It keeps me up at night.” 

“And I and I see that when I’m driving around LA. I’m just looking in the faces of folks who could be a victim and I’m wondering, how are you feeling, how do you feel standing on the bus stop,” she said. 

“In this current climate, for me itโ€™s whatโ€™s happening to immigrants,” Obama said when asked about “recent tests of fear” related to individuals facing discrimination over the color of their skin. 

Obama noted that the “fear” does not personally impact her as a former first lady who has police protection. 

“Itโ€™s not the fear for myself anymore,” she continued. “I drive around in a four-car motorcade with a police escort. Iโ€™m Michelle Obama. I do still worry about my daughters in the world, even though they are somewhat recognizable.”

“My fears are for what I know is happening out there in streets all over the city,” she added, referring to her hometown of Chicago. 

During a Monday White House briefing to discuss border enforcement during President Donald Trumpโ€™s first hundred days border czar Tom Homan said that under Trump, unlawful crossings were โ€œhistorically lowโ€ and that the border was the most secure it has ever been. Homan drew a sharp contrast to the record number of illegal immigrants that entered the United States under the Biden administration.

โ€œEvery president I ever worked for took border security seriously because you canโ€™t have national security if you donโ€™t have strong border security,โ€ Homan said. โ€œEven President Obama and President Clinton took some steps to secure the border because they understood national security was important. Joe Biden is the first president in the history of this nation who came into office and unsecured a border on purpose. Thatโ€™s just a fact.โ€

Homan accused the Biden administration of weaponizing its immigration policies, motivated by the desire that a future Democrat president would give illegal immigrants released into the country amnesty, saying Biden was โ€œselling this country off for future political power.โ€

Watch:

Contrasting Biden and Trump, Homan said that between 11,000-15,000 people were crossing the border illegally per day this time of the year under Biden, while under Trump, just 178 had crossed in the last 24 hours. During the same time, he said there were 1,800 known โ€œgotawaysโ€ under Biden, compared to just 38 under Trump. Homan added that from January 20 to April 1, 2024, Biden released 184,000 illegals out of federal custody into the country. The Trump administration has only released nine total, including four so they could testify in criminal cases and four with extreme medical conditions.

In total, Homan said that there have been 139,000 deportations under Trump. He added that the administration was prioritizing the estimated 700,000 illegals who have been charged with crimes.

Trump Announces โ€˜Permanent Pauseโ€™ On Migration From โ€˜Third World Countriesโ€™ After DC Shooting

President Donald Trump signs Executive Orders, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

President Donald J. Trump announced Thursday that he will โ€œpermanently pause migration from all Third World Countriesโ€ after two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot in Washington, D.C., earlier this week. โ€œI will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,โ€ he wrote on his social-media platform.

Earlier on Thursday, the administration revealed plans to re-examine green cards issued to immigrants from 19 countries. The June memo lists these countries โ€” including Afghanistan, Burma, Cuba, Somalia, Venezuela and others โ€” as of concern.

The sharper policy response comes after the suspect in this weekโ€™s attack was identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national. He entered the U.S. in 2021 under the humanitarian resettlement program launched following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Washington, D.C. Shooting: What Happened

On Wednesday afternoon near the White House, Lakanwal allegedly ambushed two West Virginia National Guard members. The victims, 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, were shot during what prosecutors are calling a โ€œbrazen, targeted attack.โ€

Beckstrom died from her injuries late Thanksgiving Day, President Trump said. Wolfe remains in critical condition.

According to prosecutors, Lakanwal drove cross-country from Washington state for the sole purpose of carrying out the ambush. He allegedly fired 10โ€“15 rounds from a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver, striking one Guardsman, then leaning over to shoot a second time, and then firing on the other. Authorities said the remaining National Guard member then returned fire, and Lakanwal was apprehended.

This horrific attack unfolded while hundreds of National Guard troops remain deployed across D.C., under Mr. Trumpโ€™s 2025 strategy to restore public safety in the capital.

Administration Response: Immigration Crackdown

In response to the ambush, President Trump not only called for a complete halt to migration from unspecified โ€œThird World Countries,โ€ but late Thursday the administration also announced an indefinite pause on Afghan immigration. Officials said they would conduct a sweeping review of green card approvals tied to the 19 countries flagged in June.

In his statement, Trump did not list which additional countries would be subject to the pause โ€” though the 19-country list already includes several nations the administration deemed high risk.

Why This Matters โ€” and What It Signals for National Security

Supporters of the presidentโ€™s crackdown argue that the D.C. ambush underscores the danger of lax vetting under previous administrations. The suspect in this case reportedly worked in a CIA-backed unit during the U.S. war in Afghanistan, then obtained resettlement under a program from the prior administration.