(A)Political - December 13th

Good morning everyone,

It’s been a full week on Capitol Hill. Let’s dive in!

The Department of Homeland Security announced that over 2.5 million deportations have taken place, including 1.9 million self deportations since Jan, 20th 2025. More states are in the crosshairs of the DOJ after failing to provide voter data. Trump seems poised to sign an executive order moving Marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug.

• DHS Announces 2.5 Million Deportations Took Place Since January 20th

• DOJ Sues Four More States Over Failure To Provide Voter Data

• Several Reports Indicate Trump Is Preparing To Reclassify Marijuana To A Schedule III Drug Via Executive Order

DHS Announces 2.5 Million Deportations Took Place Since January 20th

_{By: Atlas}

The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that an estimated 2.5 million illegal immigrants have left the United States since President Donald Trump began his second term on January 20, a figure the department called a "record-breaking achievement."

The total includes more than 605,000 individuals deported through DHS enforcement operations and approximately 1.9 million who have voluntarily self-deported since January, according to a department statement released December 10.

"The Trump Administration is shattering historic records with more than 2.5 million illegal aliens leaving the U.S.," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. "Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now. They know if they don't, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return."

DHS also reported that its officers have arrested more than 595,000 illegal immigrants since Trump took office.

How the numbers are calculated

While the department's tallies of deportations are meticulously tracked, the number of illegal immigrants who have self-deported is an estimate. The vast majority of migrants who leave the country do so without informing the government.

At Trump's six-month mark in office, DHS reported 150,000 deportations with a combined total of 1.6 million illegal immigrants having left the country. However, the department only recorded roughly 13,000 migrants who self-deported through official channels at that time.

Those tracked self-deportations were logged through the CBP Home app, a Department of Homeland Security program that offers illegal immigrants a free flight home and a $1,000 payment for leaving the country voluntarily.

DHS told CBS News at the time that it based its estimation of the remaining self-deportations on numbers from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, though the department did not explain how the calculation was made.

Since July, the number of deportations has nearly quadrupled—jumping from 150,000 to 605,000 in the span of four to five months.

Funding and enforcement expansion

A major factor in the acceleration of deportations was Trump signing into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which allocated close to $170 billion for immigration enforcement operations. The legislation included $45 million to expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention capacity and $30 billion for ICE personnel and enforcement operations.

Since the bill's enactment, immigration enforcement operations have been conducted in Democrat-run cities including Chicago, Portland, Charlotte and Minneapolis. The increased presence of federal officers has led to widespread protests, with some demonstrators raising concerns about ICE tactics and accusing agents of indiscriminately targeting Latino communities.

Last week, a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled in favor of an immigrant rights group that sued the government over what it characterized as an "arrest first, ask questions later" policy, which had lowered the standard for warrantless arrests of illegal immigrants.

The Trump administration has maintained that operations are targeting the "worst of the worst" among illegal immigrants, focusing on individuals with criminal histories. According to DHS, 70% of illegal immigrants arrested have been charged with or convicted of a crime.

On December 8, DHS launched a new webpage titled "The Worst of the Worst" that provides information on criminal illegal immigrants arrested under the Trump administration. The site allows Americans to search data on arrests from all 50 states, including individuals with histories of homicide, rape, assault, child molestation, drug trafficking, armed robbery and battery.

"As the media whitewashes the facts, day in and day out, our brave men and women of ICE risk their lives for the American people," McLaughlin said. "Americans don't have to rely on the press for this information—with this transparent tool, they can see for themselves what public safety threats were lurking in their neighborhoods and communities."

Border encounters at historic lows

The Trump administration's policies have also dramatically reduced the number of migrants attempting to cross the border.

In October and November, there were 60,940 total encounters with illegal immigrants by border patrol agents nationwide—the lowest start to a fiscal year ever recorded, according to Customs and Border Protection.

Since Trump took office, nationwide apprehensions have averaged fewer than 10,000 per month, which CBP described as "a level of deterrence unmatched in modern border history."

"For the seventh consecutive month, U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the United States," CBP said in a December 4 statement. "Every individual apprehended was processed according to law—a milestone unmatched in modern border history."

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a December 10 post on social media that the department's accomplishments this year have been "historic."

"None of it would be possible without the Homeland Security Advisory Council," she said. "The men and women of this council provide their experience and insights to help deliver seven consecutive months of zero illegal entries, a revitalized Coast Guard, and more than 2.4 million deportations."

President Trump recently commended Noem for what he described as a closed and secure border. "We have a border that is the best border in the history of our country," he said.

Opposition and legislative pushback

The administration's enforcement campaign has faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocacy groups.

Earlier this month, a group of lawmakers introduced the Dream Act of 2025, seeking to provide a pathway to lawful permanent residence and citizenship for noncitizens brought to the United States as children who do not currently have lawful status.

Under the proposed legislation, these individuals—commonly referred to as Dreamers—would need to meet work, military or education requirements, pass security and law enforcement background checks, demonstrate proficiency in English and possess knowledge of American history. They must not have committed a felony or other serious crimes and cannot pose a threat to the United States.

"For decades, gridlock and partisan politics have forced Dreamers to live in limbo," Senator Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, said in a statement. "And under the Trump Administration, they now have to fear being swept up in Trump's cruel mass deportation campaign at any moment."

Nearly 2 million Dreamers are estimated to live in the United States.

DHS has said the rapid decline in the illegal immigrant population is producing economic effects nationwide, citing what it called a "resurgence in local job markets." The department noted that 12,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in October, following 431,000 additions in September.

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