The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Wednesday that around two million undocumented immigrants have left the U.S. since President Donald Trump returned to office, a number that includes both deportations and voluntary departures.
In a post on X, DHS shared a graphic reading “2 million gone” with te caption:
“In less than 250 days, 2 MILLION illegal aliens have left the United States. AND STAY OUT!”
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin credited Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and DHS law enforcement officers for the results. She highlighted that federal agencies have carried out about 400,000 deportations since January, while another 1.6 million immigrants left on their own.
“It’s a lot safer for the aliens themselves, for the public, for our law enforcement, and also it’s a lot better financially, a lot more tax savings for the U.S. taxpayer,” McLaughlin told Just the News. “In addition to that, there’s been about 400,000 deportations themselves, so totally, about 2 million — but we’re going to get those numbers up.”
The figure echoes an estimate from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), which reported that 1.6 million undocumented immigrants had left voluntarily by mid-August. However, CIS warned its numbers might be overstated due to incomplete July data and the possibility that stricter enforcement could make immigrants avoid surveys or conceal foreign-born status.
“All this should be kept in mind when interpreting the figures presented,” the study noted.
Other immigration experts voiced similar concerns. Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Institute said in August that intensified enforcement could skew survey accuracy:
“We know the government is sharing Medicaid and food stamps and other data with ICE, so answering a government survey may feel particularly perilous right now for someone who doesn’t have firm legal status.”
Trump has estimated there are 20 to 22 million undocumented immigrants in the country. If accurate, the administration’s number would represent about 10 percent of the total.
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