Experts estimate that during the Biden administration, around 9 million migrants crossed illegally into the United States and remained in the country. As illegal border crossers, they are what immigration officials call "removable," that is, subject to expulsion from the country on the grounds that they entered without authorization.
The wild influx during the Biden years strained communities nationwide, burdened government budgets, caused social disruption, led to an alarming number of violent crimes, and, in general, made a mockery of U.S. immigration law. Plus, the situation is difficult to reverse; it would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to find each illegal border crosser and remove him or her from the United States.
But the administration of President Donald Trump has made extraordinary progress in addressing the problem. First, Border Patrol and other law enforcement officials have virtually stopped the flow of illegal crossers at the Mexico border. The best start is to stop making the problem worse.
Second, this month, the Department of Homeland Security announced the departure of more than 2.5 million migrants who were in the country illegally. "Since January 20, 2025, DHS enforcement operations have resulted in more than 605,000 deportations," the Department said in a statement. "DHS has prioritized removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens as part of the Trump administration's efforts to return law and order to the United States. Additionally, thanks to the comprehensive efforts of DHS law enforcement, 1.9 million illegal aliens have voluntarily self-deported since January 2025."
The first number -- 605,000 deportations -- has astonished some immigration enforcement veterans. In the past, the government's deportations were in two categories. One was the number of illegal immigrants removed from the interior of the country, and the other was the number who were simply apprehended at the border and turned around back into Mexico. Obviously, the first category requires a lot more work for immigration enforcement.
Former immigration judge Andrew Arthur of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tighter immigration controls, noted that the high-water mark of removals from the interior of the country was 237,941 in 2008-2009. (Arthur attributed that number, at the very end of the George W. Bush administration, to an effort by Bush to increase interior removals, appearing tough on immigration, in hopes of persuading Congress to approve an amnesty deal.)
Now, Trump has virtually stopped the flow of illegal crossers at the border, so the administration's number of deportations -- 605,000 -- is virtually all people removed from the interior. That is a huge number; Arthur called it "epic."
Trump started with some advantages. First, due to the Biden administration's lax enforcement, by the end of 2024, there were 1.44 million illegal immigrants who had received final removal orders from a judge. They had full due process and could be deported as soon as they were found. So that was a start.
In addition, under Trump, immigration judges added new deportation orders. And then Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, began to receive assistance from what Arthur called "enforcement-friendly jurisdictions that will identify and (to a degree) hold criminal aliens for the agency to pick up."
That is the deportation side. The much larger part of the total removal number, 1.9 million, is people who were in the U.S. illegally and decided to leave on their own -- to self-deport. The two categories are closely related. Everyone agrees that the Trump administration's aggressive deportation efforts have caught the attention of the millions in the country illegally. They face a new reality that gives them three choices: 1) Find a way to get right with the law; 2) Do nothing and hope that enforcement officers do not find them; or 3) Leave.
So far, just in 2025, 1.9 million have taken the third option. If Trump's enforcement efforts continue, that number will continue to grow.
The total number of deportations, 2.5 million, is quite an achievement. But to put it in perspective, Trump's record number of deportations has reversed just one year of the number who entered the U.S. illegally during the Biden influx. That's a measure of how much there is to do.
Can the administration keep up its first-year pace for the rest of Trump's term? Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, believes it can. "Yes, ICE can maintain this pace," she said. "They have an infusion of funding and Trump has been able to win some court challenges. If he increases workplace enforcement and continues the zero-tolerance messaging, more people will see the writing on the wall and decide to return home. In addition, there will be fewer visa overstays because of the tightening of visa restrictions."
Trump's efforts have met with significant public approval -- majorities approve of removing illegal immigrants with criminal records and also those who have simply entered the country illegally. But a few of ICE's more heavy-handed removal actions have given Democrats an issue to stage protests against the administration's "cruelty." Several Democratic politicians, including presidential hopefuls Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., and JB Pritzker, D-Ill., are doubling down on their opposition to enforcing U.S. immigration law.
The most important thing to remember is that Trump's work is intended to make life better for the people living legally in the U.S. "The benefit to the United States is that certain illegal aliens who are committing crimes and causing problems in American communities will no longer be living here," says Vaughan. "American taxpayers will have less of a burden funding welfare, health care, and schooling for recent arrivals, and employers who were previously hiring illegal workers will have to start hiring U.S. workers. All of this is helpful to the quality of life and wage growth for struggling Americans."
This content originally appeared on the Washington Examiner at washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/4356447/trump-most-important-achievement/.
Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. Email him at byork@washingtonexaminer.com. For a deeper dive into many of the topics Byron covers, listen to his podcast, The Byron York Show, available on the Ricochet Audio Network at ricochet.com/series/byron-york-show and everywhere else podcasts are found.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use promo code MERRY74 to get 74% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member