Trump Administration Reports Over 300,000 Undocumented Immigrant Arrests in Six Months

• Trump Administration reports over 300,000 undocumented immigrant arrests
• Illegal crossings at historic low
• Zero releases under parole

The White House announced that, so far in his new term, U.S. President Donald Trump has led an immigration crackdown.

According to official data, this has resulted in the detention of more than 300,000 undocumented immigrants since January.

The figure was presented on Tuesday as a central achievement of his border security policy.

Trump Administration reports on immigration measures

A record that sparks controversy

At a press conference, Republican government spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated:

“Despite numerous false reports in the media, nearly 70% of these arrests have been foreign nationals with prior charges or convictions.”

For Leavitt, the detentions represent “an outright success” because, in her words, “they remove the most dangerous threats to public safety in American communities and return these individuals to their countries of origin.”

These figures, however, have not been independently verified.

Reinforcement of anti-immigration policies

Since returning to power in January, Trump has intensified his strategy against irregular immigration.

Measures include strengthening immigration agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and promoting mass arrests as part of his promise to carry out a “historic deportation campaign.”

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Drop in illegal crossings

Leavitt emphasized that, according to updated figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), illegal crossings fell to historic lows in July, with 24,628 border encounters nationwide.

“This is the lowest monthly number of Border Patrol arrests in the country, surpassing the previous record set in June,” she noted.

At the Mexican border, 4,601 arrests were recorded in July, 24% less than the previous low in June (6,070) and 92% less than in the same month of 2024 (56,400).

End of releases under ‘parole’

The CBP report also indicated that no releases under conditional parole were recorded in July, in contrast to 12,365 last year.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem celebrated the data:

“No more excuses. No more releases. We have put the cartels on the defensive and taken back our border.”

Criticism and complaints

Pro-immigrant organizations have denounced that these anti-immigration policies have been accompanied by abuses and due process violations in dozens of cases.

Some detainees have been sent to detention centers such as the controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades, criticized for its conditions.

The report reflects the tightening of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies and their impact on detention figures.

While the White House presents these results as a security success, human rights concerns keep the debate open—one that is expected to intensify in the coming months.

Do you believe these measures strengthen the country’s security or violate migrants’ rights?

SOURCE: EFE