Stunning new number that shows Trump migrant crackdown has BEATEN border crisis

Daily Mail​

6 hours ago

Economists have predicted that the United States may lose more migrants than it gains for the first time in 50 years as a result of four hardline policy initiatives by the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security, under Donald Trump 's direction, revoked legal status to migrants, threatened to deport international students, increased deportations...and most notably of all, cracked down hard on migrants who illegally cross the southern border.
President Trump campaigned on mass deportations and securing the southern border, which has been a cornerstone of the first five months of his second term.
The United States has long championed itself as the land of immigrants, but the rise of illegal immigration and concerns about criminal activity have forced government officials to re-examine migration patterns.
Immigration surged under the Biden administration, with net immigration jumping from 0.1 percent to 0.8 percent in a two year period, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
According to Pew Research, the population of immigrants has steadily increased since 1970, reaching a record high of 14.3 percent in 2023.
The staggering statistic was the highest percentage of migrants in the US since 1890, when 14.8 percent of the population migrated to the country.
Now, researchers with the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institution are predicting that migration will only continue to decrease due to Trump's hardline immigration polices.
Wendy Edelberg, one of the economists researching the trend, told the Washington Post ahead of the paper's publishing, 'For the year as a whole [2025], we think it's likely [immigration] will be negative.'
'It certainly would be the first time in more than 50 years.'
For decades, more migrants have come to the US than left, with statistics from the Congressional Budget Office citing record highs of 3.3 million migrants in 2023 and 2024.
After Trump's first 100 days in office, ICE arrested 66,463 undocumented migrants and removed 65,682 migrants, according to ICE data.
'We're just 100 days into this administration and thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is using every tool at its disposal to enforce our country's immigration laws and protect our communities,' ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons said at the time.
The agency has also set up the 287(g) program to partner with local law enforcement and increase arrests of undocumented migrants.
Homeland Security Investigations arrested more than 1,000 migrants in Trump's first 100 days and issued over $1 million in fines to businesses hiring illegal workers.
Crackdown on the southern border
Trump's crackdown at the southern border has also led to a dramatic decrease in migration.
From 2022-2024, Customs and Border Patrol agents reported over two million encounters at the border per year.
For example, in April, agents only reported 12,035 encounters for the month, which is a drastic drop from the year prior, with 179,737 encounters.
In April 2023, there were 211,992 enforcement encounters and 235,785 in April 2022.
Trump has seemingly delivered on his promises to secure the border and stop illegal immigration; however, some economists have warned of the negative impact his policies will have on the economy.
As the Baby Boomer generation hits retirement age, the workforce has begun to slow, and Brusuelas argued that more migrants leaving than staying would exacerbate an already declining workforce.
Economist Joe Brusuelas told the Washington Post that a decrease in migration results in a smaller workforce.
'You take those people away at a time when demographics are resulting in a lack of replacement for retired workers — all that's a recipe for higher inflation,' he told the publication.
Revoking legal status and deporting international students
Biden had expanded pathways for migrants to gain citizenship, including a program that allowed those from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to come to the US with a financial sponsor.
Biden also raised the refugee admissions ceiling to 125,000 in 2022; however, when Trump assumed office, he revoked the program and ordered DHS to suspend applications for refugee status.
Trump's administration has also threatened to deport international students. In March, the New York Times reported that 800 students were stripped of their visas.
One of the most prominent examples was Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident of the US who is married to an American citizen.
He was taken into custody while his wife was pregnant and sent to a detention center in Louisiana after he led protests at Columbia University in support of Palestine.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen, was also ripped off the streets by ICE after writing an opinion piece in a student newspaper criticizing Tufts University for its response to the war in Israel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in late March, 'There is no right to a student visa.
'We can cancel a student visa under the law just the same way that we can deny a student visa under the law. And we will do so in cases we find appropriate.'
Deportations
The Trump admin has also ramped up deportations, with over 50,000 migrants in ICE detention centers as of June 5, according to NBC News' calculations.
Of the migrants in detention centers, over 10 percent have been fast-tracked for deportation.
ICE raids across the country have sparked nationwide protests, resulting in Trump's decision to send the National Guard to Los Angeles.
Despite the disturbing images, Stan Veuger, one of the researchers working on the upcoming paper, told the Washington Post that the drop in migrations is due to 'inflows' going down.
'It's not about deportations so much,' he said.
'It's really just that inflows are down so much; not just at the southern border, but also through various legal programs.'
Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policies are only expected to continue as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR1) moves through Congress.