‘Trump is delivering’: 7 big border and immigration moves of 2025
Seven weeks after Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump stood before America and declared the U.S. southern border secure.
“The media and our friends in the Democratic Party kept saying we needed new legislation. We must have legislation to secure the border. But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president,” Trump said to loud applause during his address to a joint session of Congress on March 4.
Now, 11 months into Trump’s second term, the administration, under the leadership of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan, has largely succeeded in the aggressive implementation of Trump’s border and immigration agenda.
“President Trump is delivering on his promise to Make America Safe Again and deport criminal illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Daily Signal.
“In record time, we have totally secured the border and are carrying out the largest mass deportation operation of criminal illegal aliens in history. Next year, the administration will continue to build upon our historic successes with even more deportations,” Jackson said.
Day 1 ‘Emergency’
Pen in hand, Trump signed an executive order during his first hours as the 47th president to declare the situation at the southern border a national emergency. The order allowed Trump to deploy additional military personnel and resources to the border.
From January to February 2025, encounters with illegal aliens between the ports of entry at the southern border fell by over a third.
In addition to the emergency declaration, Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office ending “catch and release” at the border, reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy, temporarily suspending processing of refugee applications, and more.
Birthright Citizenship
Arguably, the most controversial executive order Trump signed not just on his first day in office, but over the course of his first 11 months sitting back behind the Resolute Desk, was his order ending automatic birthright citizenship.
The 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump’s executive order focuses on the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” and holds that those born to parents who are not in the U.S. legally are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction and are therefore not legal citizens.
Legal action was immediately taken to block Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order, and on Dec. 5, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the case next year in what is expected to be the biggest Supreme Court case of 2026.
No Releases
For seven straight months, zero illegal aliens have been released into the interior of the U.S., the White House announced Dec. 15. The numbers are in stark contrast to the Biden administration, which saw about 10 million illegal aliens enter the U.S. over four years.
Additionally, about 600,000 illegal aliens have been deported since Jan. 20, and 1.9 million have self-deported, according to DHS.
‘Bringing Hell’ to a City Near You
Border czar Tom Homan has championed Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in cities across the U.S. since Trump returned to office.
From the start, Homan pledged to send additional ICE resources to Sanctuary Cities that refused to cooperate with ICE, such as Boston.
“I’m coming to Boston and I’m bringing hell with me,” Homan said during a speech in February.
Over the past 11 months, ICE has carried out operations arresting illegal aliens in cities across the U.S., including Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle.
Shot at, Bit, and Assaulted: Violence Against ICE Spikes
Amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, assaults against immigration agents have seen a 1,150% increase in 2025, according to DHS.
Agents have been threatened, spat on, hit, bit, and even shot at.
In September, a shooter opened fire on an immigration detention facility in Dallas. An investigation revealed that the shooter was suspected of firing at agents but instead struck illegal aliens, two of whom were killed.
The words “Anti ICE” were found inscribed on some of the recovered shell casings.
Detention Facilities
The Trump administration announced the opening of new illegal alien detention facilities across the U.S. in 2025.
Upon being apprehended, illegal aliens cannot immediately be deported. Mass deportation efforts require an equal number of beds to hold illegal aliens until the proper legal and logistical steps are completed to carry out the deportation.
Alligator Alcatraz, a tent detention facility in the Florida Everglades, opened in the middle of 2025. Multiple lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to shut down the facility.
Additionally, DHS has announced the expansion of an ICE detention facility in Nebraska, naming it the Cornhusker Clink. In Indiana, the Miami Correctional Center partnered with DHS to create the Speedway Slammer detention facility. And in September, DHS announced the Louisiana Lockup detention facility in partnership with the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
“Louisiana Lockup, Cornhusker Clink, and Speedway Slammer give ICE the ability to lock up some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug traffickers, and gang members,” according to DHS.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia
No singular illegal alien has made more headlines in 2025 than Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was living in Maryland when he was deported to El Salvador in March.
The Trump administration initially said he was removed due to an “administrative error,” but later said that was an inaccurate claim.
After a legal battle and outcry from Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., traveling to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia and demand his release, the illegal alien was brought back to the U.S. in June after a court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return.
Abrego Garcia was released from criminal custody in Tennessee in August and returned to Maryland, where he was then taken into immigration custody. A judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting Abrego Garcia a second time, and on Dec. 11, a judge ordered Abrego Garcia released from immigration custody.
The Trump administration is appealing the judge’s decision.
Abrego Garcia’s case is just one of many legal battles the Trump administration continues to fight on issues related to the implantation and execution of the Trump’s border and immigration agenda.
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]