President Donald Trump headed back to the White House in January after a campaign where he promised to take an aggressive stance on immigration and conduct the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.
Since taking office, border crossing numbers have dropped significantly and the number of migrants placed in detention has risen.
Trump signed several executive orders seeking to reshape migration patterns and systems for migrants looking to come to the U.S. while cracking down on those who are already here.
Some policies were enacted by various agencies within hours, while others are still maneuvering through the court system.
Here’s where things stand with the Trump administration and immigration:
Policy and deportation enforcement
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the first 100 days of the administration there were a “record-breaking” number of migrants arrested, at more than 66,000, and nearly the same number removed from the country.
“Three in four arrests were criminal illegal aliens, putting the worst first,” ICE said in April.
A Time magazine analysis found ICE detention data showed the average number of people held in centers had gone up 25% since January. By June, the administration said it had deported more than 200,000 people.
Protests and frustrations over the mass arrests bubbled up across the country as ICE agents began going to communities to make arrests and conduct raids of workplaces. Then, things erupted in March when Trump invoked the “Alien Enemies Act.”
It’s a wartime measure that allows the president to deport non-U.S. citizens of enemy countries from the U.S. The measure had only been used three times since its passage in 1798 and not since World War II.
Under the measure, Trump ordered the removal of more than 200 alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
This move became the subject of a legal battle, starting a power struggle between the judicial and executive branches after a judge ordered the flight carrying alleged Tren de Aragua gang members to return to the U.S. and administration officials denied skirting the order. It also sparked conversation about third-party countries accepting deportees, when migrants are sent to countries besides their place of birth.
Just weeks later, the administration’s immigration policy was national news again when Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador. Congressional Democrats were outraged after the administration admitted to mistakenly removing him from the country. Abrego Garcia was granted a stay of deportation by a U.S. judge in 2019 because he said he’d face threats if he returned to El Salvador. His stay in a Salvadoran prison sparked international concern after neither Trump nor Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele were willing to facilitate his return.
The story was further complicated by reports of Abrego Garcia’s alleged domestic violence and gang activity.
Abrego Garcia’s story was just one of many that point to growing tensions between advocates, migrants and those carrying out the Trump administration’s enforcement efforts.
Andry Hernandez Romero, a gay makeup artist who was also deported on suspicion of being part of Tren de Aragua, saw his case dismissed by a judge.
The lengthy, complicated legal process has been difficult for attorneys who represent deportees to maneuver and sparked conversations about what due process means in today’s America.
California Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed at a Department of Homeland Security facility after he arrived unannounced at a press conference where DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was speaking. Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., were arrested at a protest in May outside of an ICE detention center and the case was later dropped. Brad Lander, a former New York City mayoral candidate, was arrested at an immigration court.
Most recently, DHS opened a new detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” deep in the Florida Everglades. The center will allow ICE officers and police to interrogate and detain migrants ahead of potential deportation. It features hundreds of security cameras, thousands of feet of barbed wire and hundreds of personnel, The Associated Press reported.
DHS has denied reports that the conditions inside the facility are unsafe and people were unable to communicate with legal counsel.
“ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” the agency said in a post Tuesday. “All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members.”
ICE protests and attacks
Los Angeles has been the epicenter of protests against the administration and ICE’s efforts to enforce immigration action.
Days of protests over the federal crackdown, with some demonstrators growing violent, prompted Trump to call in the National Guard to tamp down threats to agents. The protests began after ICE agents carried out raids on migrants in the U.S. illegally. Local leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, said they would not cooperate with the raids and arrests.
The protests and deployment proved to be a sticking point between Trump and the state government. Newsom criticized Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, for deploying the National Guard to the protests without his request. It was the first time a president has overridden a governor’s request in six decades.
ICE and the administration were criticized for conducting raids in areas where people were working or going about normal business, including Home Depot and the Los Angeles Dodgers stadium. ICE denied being at the stadium.
Republicans say Democratic anti-ICE rhetoric has led to threats and violence against agents.
An officer was shot outside an ICE detention facility in Texas last week. The center holds people who are awaiting deportation or have been accused of violating immigration laws, The New York Times reported.
Several armed people were taken into custody at the scene, and the FBI in Dallas said that 10 people were charged Monday with attempted murder for their role in the shooting.
According to the FBI, the defendants shot fireworks at the facility and sprayed graffiti on cars. When officers responded, they were shot at.
“An Alvarado police officer responded to the scene after correctional officers called 911 to report suspicious activity. When the Alvarado police officer arrived, one alleged defendant positioned in nearby woods shot the officer in the neck area,” the FBI said. “Another alleged assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility.”
The FBI said the incident underscores the dangers that officers face. Trump said Wednesday that the penalty should be “very stiff” and include a “long time” in jail, should they be found guilty.
Back in Los Angeles, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested four people on suspicion of interfering with immigration enforcement. Chief Border Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino shared images of the people on X, and said they were facing felony charges for “placing homemade tire spikes to disable law enforcement vehicles.”
In Buffalo, New York, a man was arrested and charged with communicating interstate threats and for allegedly making social media posts threatening to kill ICE employees.
In the aftermath of these events, the Department of Homeland Security has accused Democratic lawmakers and the media for normalizing the violence shown toward ICE agents. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called on people to “turn the rhetoric down.”
Temporary status changes and student impact
Some of the administration’s most criticized actions on immigration so far have stemmed from the arrests of nonviolent migrants after federal officials said they would focus on people who have committed crimes in the U.S.
Among those is the arrest of former Columbia University pro-Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil. While he was released, his case is still pending. Khalil is a permanent resident who was detained earlier this year and was the first case in a series of crackdowns against foreign students involved in anti-Israel protests. His story became a flashpoint for some, along with the Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was detained by plainclothes officers, and several other students across the country.
The administration has also expanded its list of countries that no longer have temporary protected status. As of Monday, the administration said it would revoke protected status for immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua, putting more than 70,000 people at risk of deportation.
Temporary protected status allows certain people the ability to live in the U.S. if their home country is considered too dangerous due to conflict or other crises. It was established in 1990, but the Trump administration has cracked down on the program by moving to remove Biden-era protections for several other countries.
The efforts have faced legal challenges, but the Supreme Court greenlit the administration ending protected status for Venezuelan migrants earlier this year.
‘Big, beautiful bill’ changes
Trump on Friday signed his “big, beautiful bill,” capping off weeks of deliberation by members of the House and Senate. The measure will cement Trump’s agenda, including tax cuts, spending reductions to Medicaid and increased funding for immigration enforcement.
In the final version of the bill, there is $46.5 billion to construct a border wall, $45 billion to increase capacity at detention centers and about $30 billion in funding for other ICE resources, CBS News reported.
Last month, Trump acknowledged there were plans coming to make changes to his administration’s migration enforcement to protect migrant farmers and hotel workers. He noted that advocates and those in the farming and hotel industries have expressed concern that the administration’s aggressive action is taking some “very good, longtime workers away from them” and it’s nearly impossible to replace them.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she and Trump have spoken about the need to be “strategic” related to agriculture and deportations.
“The president and I have spoken about that once or twice, and he has always been of the mindset that at the end of the day, the promise to America to ensure that we have a 100% American workforce stands, but we must be strategic, and how we are implementing the mass deportation so as not to compromise our food supply,” she said.
Rollins pointed to the “34 million able-bodied adults” on Medicaid in the country, saying there are “plenty of workers” who could fill the role of those deported who will have “no amnesty.”