Trump first month ushers in immigration overhaul from Biden era
President Donald Trump wasted no time in unleashing a seismic shift in the U.S. immigration system during his first full month in office. He quickly overturned Biden-era policies and overhauled how authorities conduct enforcement both in the interior and at the border.
On day one of his administration, Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at tightening border security and cracking down on illegal immigration. He declared a national emergency at the border, deployed the U.S. military, suspended refugee admissions, and ended birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. He also restarted border wall construction, which had been halted under the Biden administration.
Cabinet agencies swiftly followed suit, with the Pentagon deploying troops to the southern border and opening up Guantánamo Bay to flights of migrants. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued orders that expanded the use of expedited removal, lifted limits on ICE imposed by the Biden administration, and reviewed the parole status of migrants brought in under parole.
DHS also took action to claw back federal funds from programs supporting illegal immigrants and sanctuary policies. The agency fired FEMA employees and reclaimed tens of millions of dollars designated for housing migrants in New York City.
The administration also ramped up interior arrests and deportations, conducting high-profile raids in sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with ICE agents. The number of daily arrests soared above 1,000, and officials pointed to the apprehension of criminals and gang members.
As part of the crackdown, DHS paused pending applications for three Biden-era programs: Uniting for Ukraine, parole processes for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and family reunification programs. Refugee resettlement was suspended and funding to foreign nations frozen.
The Trump administration used diplomacy and tariff threats to secure cooperation from neighboring countries and others in the region. Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia all agreed to step up their border security efforts and accept deportees.
The impact of Trump’s immigration policies is already being felt, with border numbers trending lower. In January, CBP apprehended just 29,116 illegal immigrants along the southern border, the lowest number since May 2020. Border czar Tom Homan reported that Border Patrol encountered only 229 aliens across the entire southwest border in a single day, down from over 11,000 a day under the Biden administration.
President Trump’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement is delivering results, as the numbers at the border continue to decline. The administration’s efforts to overhaul the U.S. immigration system are reshaping policies and procedures to prioritize border security and crack down on illegal immigration.
