Even as President Trump's approval on the economy slips, his support on immigration remains strong. Americans solidly approve of his mass deportations policy, knowing full well that millions of people were allowed to enter the country illegally under the Biden administration. Millions of convicted and accused criminals, as well as people with standing deportation orders, are among them. Quite frankly, these numbers are a good start, but they're just a start, given what the new president's team and inherited and the enormity of the resulting task at hand:
EXCLUSIVE: ICE arrested 113,000 migrants, deported over 100,000 since Trump’s return on Jan. 20, The Post has learned.https://t.co/xLloRknLsB
— Jennie Taer 🎗️ (@JennieSTaer) April 1, 2025
Deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement surged above 100,000 since President Trump returned to the White House in January — as he maintains his promise to boot illegal migrants, alleged gangbangers and suspected terrorists from the United States, The Post has learned. ICE officials have made 113,000 arrests and carried out “north of” 100,000 deportations since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, a Department of Homeland Security source told The Post Monday. “He’s doing what he was voted in to do. Point blank!” an ICE source said. It wasn’t immediately clear how many detainees are convicted criminals, the status of their cases and their national origins — though sources believe the majority are being removed to Mexico. ICE has since “maxed out” its detention space and is asking Congress to fund additional beds to support the Trump administration’s deportation campaign that yielded 32,000 arrests in its first 50 days.
The ICE resources issue is real, and it's holding back an even more efficient and aggressive push to take a bite out of this vast problem. Congress needs to fix it, and the longer they wait -- possibly for 'one big, beautiful bill' to materialize later in the year -- the longer ICE remains under-resourced. What is undeniably clear is that the Trump team's overhaul of executive immigration policies, as well as their messaging and optics, have massively reduced illegal crossings. The latest data continue to paint a drastically improved picture:
Illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border fell yet again in March, hitting another record — with border agents barely seeing 7,000 migrants enter illegally. That’s down 94% from the 137,000 people who poured across the border in March last year. It follows February crossings of roughly 8,300 illegal migrants — the lowest in at least 25 years. And it’s all a result of “the Trump effect,” multiple Homeland Security sources told The Post Monday. Migrants are “scared there are consequences now,” said one DHS source, adding “everyone who is caught is charged and does time.”
In February of last year, under Biden, the border encounters number was around 190,000 (not counting any of the got-aways or other quasi-legal entries). It's now 7,000. Illegal entries have fallen off a cliff, and people who arrived illegally are now self-deporting in various ways. None of this is an accident or coincidence. Some critics excoriated Sec. Kristi Noem's recent visit and photo-op at a notorious Salvadoran prison, where accused illegal immigrant gang members have been sent. They called it unseemly and callous. The obvious response is that the resulting images are very much intended to resonate, both as a warning and as a deterrent. I made that point on Fox earlier in the week, while also noting that Noem's response to a question from anchor Bret Baier about due process and alleged misidentifications fell short on detail:
Reacting to @BretBaier’s interview with Sec. Noem. The message *and* policy are a 180 turn from the Biden catastrophe. On allegations that some deported alleged gang members have been misidentified, Noem’s non-specific assertions aren’t enough. “We’ll keep asking,” Bret added. pic.twitter.com/9TPXmjECu2
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 1, 2025
As I've written previously, if the government is going to deport people to a foreign prison, asserting that every single one of them is a confirmed gang member, they'd better be right about that. And if they've gotten even one case wrong, there must be some recourse or appeal available to anyone who may have been wrongly forced into a nightmare based on a government error. I'm not inclined to just take claims from immigration lawyers, family members or activists at the ACLU at face value, based on their agenda. But Trump officials hand-waving away concerns and just reciting a line about 'confidence' in the vetting process isn't sufficient. Doing things quickly and correctly is the sweet spot, and falling short on either end of the mission undermines it. Then there are cases like this one, in which the media and leftists cry foul while leaving out highly pertinent details. The initial report looks horrible, doesn't it? Well, it's not quite the complete story:
Very important fact that Yoni leaves out (and I can't imagine why!)
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) April 1, 2025
An Immigration judge found that Garcia was an MS-13 member, a flight risk, and a threat to the community SIX YEARS AGO https://t.co/fB9uv60fL4
This analysis is balanced:
The man is an illegal migrant from El Salvador. In 2019, ICE presented sufficient evidence that he was a member of the MS-13 gang for an immigration judge to deny him bond and order his removal. However, he then filed an asylum claim and obtained a withholding of removal order under the convention against torture. Essentially, he argued that despite his being here illegally and likely being a gang member based on the previous finding, he could be tortured if sent back to El Salvador. Such an order could still allow the government to deport him, but not to his home country, at least not without first contesting the order. He has been using that order since 2019 to avoid deportation. With that context, referring to him just as a "Maryland father" obviously does not tell the full story. And The Atlantic reporter cites the lawyer to downplay the previous finding of MS-13 ties, which I view as an unreliable source. However, it also does not change that the Trump admin, emphasizing government incompetence, screwed up by deporting him to the country he wasn't supposed to be deported to based on the 2019 order. This highlights the need for checks in this program.
Another detail, highlighted by Vice President Vance, is that this man also refused to show up to court for multiple traffic violations. He is not just some innocent 'father of three.' He was found by a court to be a gang member, he was ordered deported, and he didn't comply with our laws while here, having already broken them by entering the country illegally. By all means, deport him. But under the order, they weren't allowed to deport him to the country from which he came, and they've admitted that they've done so in error. Don't make these mistakes. Correct them if you do. Competence matters. This detailed explanation of a newer deportation flight is well done, as reported by Bill Melugin. Names and specifics generate confidence (click through for the complete list):
BREAKING: 17 illegal aliens with serious criminal histories were removed to El Salvador last night after being held at Guantanamo Bay, WH officials tell Fox News. They include 7 alleged TdA members & several convicted murderers, rapists, & pedophiles. None were removed via the Alien Enemies Act. All were deported via Title 8/regular US immigration law, and all had final orders of removal/deportation orders. Trump WH officials have provided a list of names and criminal histories of the aliens who were sent to El Salvador. All details below, according to WH.
Meanwhile, beware the bogus sob stories floating around. Very often, if not almost always, they lack key context, at the very least:
This is a terrible attempt at justifying sanctuary policies.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) March 30, 2025
1) She's been deported multiple times. She's guilty of a felony.
2) The alternative that this is trying to justify is sanctuary policies where police often won't report dangerous criminals to ICE, which has… https://t.co/6Um7W0IMAG
As a reminder, while following the law and proper procedure is important, and due process isn't optional, people unlawfully present inside the United States do not have a right to be here. That's doubly true when they've violated other laws. Deport away. There is a lot of work to do. I'll leave you with a righteous student visa revocation that was instantly validated by the target's parting anti-Semitic, jihadist message as he self-deported, to the groteqsue wailing of Islamists and leftists:
BREAKING: Cornell student who sued the Trump administration just days ago in an effort to stop his deportation after his visa was revoked appears to announce below that he has self-deported from the U.S. - adding “long live the student intifada”. https://t.co/ET7Ptp3yCw
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 31, 2025
Buh bye.
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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