Large numbers of foreign-born residents are leaving America. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reported last week,
Our analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey, officially called the Current Population Survey (CPS), shows a large decline in the foreign-born or immigrant population (legal and illegal) between January and May of this year.
How large a decline?
Our analysis of the raw data shows the total foreign-born population, both in and out of the labor force, declined 957,000 from January to May 2025.
That sounds like a lot. And it’s mostly from voluntary departures. Statistics on actual involuntary departures are hard to come by, on a monthly basis. Time magazine reported earlier this month a figure of more than 207,000 deported under Trump 2.0, citing a DHS source. That roughly 4-month figure compares to 271,000 deported in all of Fiscal Year 2024.
I sense that many people on the right are frustrated with the “slow” progress so far. Perhaps they were imagining a Rapture-like event where 15 million illegal immigrants vanished in an instant.
But I also sense that much of the apparent lack of progress is a lack of publicity. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is holding a record number of detainees, at over 56,000. The comparable number was under 40,000 when Trump began his second term in January.
Where I can find data–on prosecutions (up), backlogs (down), removal orders (up)–I see numbers consistent with a surge in results.
Here’s hoping these trends continue.
