JD VANCE: “More than 2.5 MILLION illegal aliens have left the United States

JD VANCE: “More than 2.5 MILLION illegal aliens have left the United States, the first time in 50 YEARS we’ve had negative net migration.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), more than 2.5 million illegal immigrants have left the United States since President Donald Trump began his second term on January 20, 2025.

This total includes approximately 605,000 to 622,000 formal deportations and an estimated 1.9 million voluntary self deportations as of late December 2025. These figures are part of an aggressive mass deportation campaign that the administration claims has reached record highs within a single year.

The high number of voluntary departures has been attributed in part to administrative incentives and increased enforcement pressure. The DHS launched the CBP Home app, which offers undocumented immigrants a free flight to their home country and a financial stipend, which was increased to $3,000 in December 2025 for those who leave by the end of the year.

Additionally, the administration expanded the pool of deportable individuals by stripping hundreds of thousands of Haitian, Venezuelan, and Afghan immigrants of their temporary legal status.

Independent reports and tracking organizations provide slightly different perspectives on these totals. While the administration touts these numbers as historic achievements, data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) suggests that the actual number of formal removals by ICE may be closer to 290,000 for the year, which is roughly 7 percent higher than the previous year's total.

Furthermore, Pew Research Center noted that the overall immigrant population in the United States, including those here legally, saw its first decline in over 50 years, dropping by more than one million people between January and June 2025.