OPINION:
Since October 2025, the Department of Homeland Security has deported 356,389 illegals out of the roughly 14 million who entered under previous administrations and now reside in our country.
It is far from the “mass deportation” that President Trump pledged on the campaign trail.
Yes, the deportation numbers slightly exceed the roughly 340,000 formal fiscal year removals under the Obama administration. However, during Mr. Obama’s eight years in office, there were far fewer illegals in the country than there are today.
For reference on what “mass deportation” looks like, under President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1954 Operation Wetback campaign, the U.S. government said about 1.3 million individuals were deported from a population of roughly 3.5 million illegal immigrants residing within the country at the time.
The Trump administration has prided itself on transparency, but its deportation numbers were fudged through sleight-of-hand accounting to appear to be a “win.”
The numbers released include those who crossed the border and were immediately returned to Mexico — hardly the interior enforcement that was promised on the campaign trail.
Yes, it is good that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is monitoring the border and turning back illegals, but what about all those illegals who crossed and are currently residing in the U.S.?
White House border czar Tom Homan has pushed back against criticism of the numbers on Fox News, citing the government shutdown, which negatively affected immigration enforcement. After reconciliation passed this year and the Homeland Security Department got the funding it needed, Mr. Homan said the department is “hitting on all cylinders,” with June and July deportation numbers surging.
Still, there is reason to worry. The Trump administration has shown repeatedly its willingness to cave to far-left pressure. After the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old Colombian man by an ICE agent in Maine this month, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin temporarily halted ICE vehicle stops, robbing the agency of an important enforcement tool.
Mr. Trump overturned the order a few days later.
During his confirmation hearing in March, Mr. Mullin emphasized that his goal for the agency was to stay out of the daily headlines, a seemingly impossible task unless he gives in to amnesty pressure. Just this week, an anti-ICE protester allegedly shot a pellet gun and set off fireworks outside a federal immigration center in New York City.
The Washington Post has reported that Mr. Mullin is cultivating a relationship with business groups concerned that they may lose workers to aggressive immigration enforcement. Instead of cowering to farmworker amnesty, Mr. Mullin’s message to these business groups should be: “If your executives hire illegals, they should go to jail.”
Like many within the Republican Party who voted for Mr. Trump, I fundamentally reject the notion that America cannot and will not thrive without illegal foreign labor. House Republicans, however, appear to be falling for the lobbyist and corporate narrative that businesses cannot be profitable without cheap, illegal workers and are considering giving a pathway to legal status through the H-2A program.
For mass deportations to be successful, workplace raids are essential.
Brian Lonergan of the Federation for American Immigration Reform wrote in April: “For decades, lax enforcement at the border was compounded by even weaker accountability inside the country. Businesses in construction, agriculture, meatpacking, hospitality, and manufacturing have relied on a steady supply of cheap, illegal labor. This created a vicious cycle. Porous borders encouraged more illegal crossings, while job opportunities pulled migrants deeper into the interior. The result was not just lawbreaking on a massive scale but wage suppression for American workers, strained public services, and eroding respect for the rule of law.”
To achieve the Trump administration’s goal of deporting 1 million people annually, in addition to workplace enforcement, the administration also needs to expand 287(g) programs, which allow ICE to work with local law enforcement to make arrests. Yes, sanctuary states and localities will refuse to work with the administration, which makes it more vital for federal officials to forge these relationships in friendly red states.
Sadly, none of this seems to be happening, which is why the administration’s fiscal year deportation numbers were so low. Still, there is time for Mr. Trump to right the ship. His instinct to overrule Mr. Mullin on traffic stops was correct.
When asked whether he supported the House amnesty bill this week, Mr. Trump deftly replied: “I don’t know about it. I’ll take a look at it.”
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.
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