DHS says over 2 million illegal migrants left U.S. since Trump took office

Over 2 million illegal migrants were deported or self-deported since President Donald Trump took office in January, the Department of Homeland Security reported Tuesday. The administration is on track to deport a record-breaking 600,000 illegal migrants by the end of Trump’s first year since returning to office.

What’s the deportation to self-removal ratio? DHS reported that most migrants left of their own accord. An estimated 1.6 million illegal migrants voluntarily left the United States in less than 250 days, while over 400,000 others were forcibly deported, DHS reported. The Trump administration’s policies are making American communities safe, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. Immigration officers target the worst of the worst to remove criminal migrants from the country, she continued. Illegal migrants get the message, self-deport or be arrested and deported, she added.

Are policies making a difference? The department cited a United Nations study reporting a 97% drop in illegal migrants from Central America heading north to the United States. The same study found nearly 50% of would-be illegal migrants opted to stop their journey, with over 45% reporting fears of detention and deportation. DHS also planned to continue building more immigration detention centers, with the department announcing over 1,000 new partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies across 40 states last week.

Other immigration news:

• DHS began investigating an illegal migrant on Tuesday accused of strangling an infant.

• Trump enacted a $100,000 fine on all H-1B visa applications on Sunday to dissuade companies from shipping in foreign workers.

• The Supreme Court allowed immigration agents in Los Angeles to resume roving raids earlier this month.

• ICE agents detained more than 300 illegal migrants while raiding a Hyundai plant in Georgia earlier this month. Hundreds of illegal workers were deported to South Korea less than two weeks later.

Dig deeper: Read Addie Offereins’ report in WORLD Magazine about religious groups suing over immigration raids in churches.