An accompanying White House press release included a list of 100 individuals that it said were the “worst of the worst criminal illegal immigrants” arrested since Trump took office.
Trump has also sent troops to the Mexican border, imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for allegedly not doing enough to stop illegal crossings, and designated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as terrorist groups.
But Trump has butted heads with judges, rights groups and Democrats who say he has ignored constitutional rights in rushing to deport migrants, sometimes without the right to a hearing.
Tom Homan, Trump’s point man on border security, told reporters Monday that “we have the most secure border in the history of this nation.”
He was asked about deportation rates, which have lagged behind Biden’s numbers, despite Trump’s promised campaign of the largest mass removal campaign in US history.
The government has not been releasing comprehensive data, but the Migration Policy Institute said it appeared on track to remove half a million people this year – fewer than the 685,000 deportations recorded in fiscal year 2024 under Biden.
Homan argued that comparisons were bogus, since Biden’s deportation numbers included people removed at the border, and most of those people were now being stopped before getting in.
