WASHINGTON, D.C. — October 20, 2025 — President Donald Trump’s administration is on pace to set a new record for deportations by the end of his first year back in office, according to data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Since returning to the White House on January 20, the Trump administration has removed more than 515,000 illegal immigrants, a figure that officials say could surpass 600,000 deportations by year’s end — marking the highest number in modern U.S. history.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed the numbers Monday, noting that the agency’s enforcement efforts have dramatically accelerated under Trump’s renewed leadership.
“We are on pace to shatter historic records,” McLaughlin said. “This is just the beginning. President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem have revitalized an agency that was handcuffed and demoralized for four years.”
In total, DHS reports that more than two million illegal aliens have departed the United States since January — including 1.6 million voluntary self-deportations in addition to the over half-million forced removals.
DHS Says Cartel Activity and Illegal Crossings Decline Sharply
McLaughlin credited the administration’s strict enforcement measures with a dramatic decline in attempted illegal crossings, including what she called a “99.99% drop in migration through Panama’s Darien Gap,” one of the main routes used by migrants heading north toward the U.S.
“Illegal aliens are hearing our message: leave now or face the consequences,” she added. “For the first time in years, migrants are turning back before they even reach our borders.”
Despite facing what officials described as a “historic wave of activist court injunctions,” DHS says its agents at ICE, CBP, and the U.S. Coast Guard continue to make record arrests — including a recent nationwide sweep targeting violent offenders.
Weekend Operation Nets Dozens of Violent Criminals
Over the weekend, DHS conducted what it called a “major enforcement operation” targeting the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal immigrants. Among those arrested were individuals previously convicted of rape, child exploitation, kidnapping, and drug trafficking.
Arrests included:
- Erick Xavier Romero, a Dominican national convicted of child rape in Boston.
- German Osvaldo Cortez-Chajon, a Guatemalan national convicted of attempting to meet a child for an unlawful act in Alabama.
- Graciano Lopez-Flores, a Mexican national convicted of indecent liberties with a child in North Carolina.
- Ramona Mercado-Vasquez, from Dominica, convicted of kidnapping and robbery in New Jersey.
- Karlett Zagal-Salazar, a Mexican national convicted of drug trafficking in Wisconsin.
In addition, Shahed Hassan from Bangladesh and Van Pham from Laos were arrested in North Carolina and Virginia, respectively, for multiple violent and property crime convictions.
Trump Administration Vows to Continue “Unstoppable” Enforcement
McLaughlin emphasized that the current government shutdown would not deter DHS from fulfilling its mission.
“Nothing — not even a government shutdown — will slow us down from making America safe again,” she said. “While Democrats stall and obstruct, our ICE officers are taking dangerous criminals off the streets every day.”
The administration maintains that its immigration crackdown is both a matter of national security and law enforcement integrity, pledging to restore what it describes as “law and order at the border” — one of Trump’s central campaign promises.
