Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, the U.S. has sent more than 515,000 illegal immigrants back to their home countries, according to a top DHS official. That figure is part of a broader push that could push total deportations above 600,000 by the end of his first year in office.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that the agency is “on pace to shatter historic records.” She said over two million people have left the United States in the past two years, including 1.6 million who voluntarily left (“self‑deported”) and the 515,000 straight deportations. In addition, DHS has arrested 485,000 migrants since Trump took the helm.
McLaughlin said the department is “just getting started.” She credited Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with reviving an agency that, during the previous administration, was “barred from doing its job.” The agency said its enforcement has hit a “historic number” of criminal aliens, especially those linked to serious crimes such as rape, kidnapping, and drug trafficking.
WASHINGTON – ICE officers have detained several high‑risk migrants over the weekend amid a government shutdown. Among those arrested were:
- Erick Xavier Romero – a Dominican national convicted of child rape in Boston.
- German Osvaldo Cortez‑Chajon – a Guatemalan who was found traveling to a child for an unlawful sexual act in Dale County, Alabama.
- Graciano Lopez‑Flores – a Mexican named for indecent liberties with a child in Orange County, North Carolina.
- Shahed Hassan – a Bangladeshi convicted of assault, drug paraphernalia possession, illegal gun carrying, drunk driving, and other offenses in Wake County, North Carolina.
- Van Pham – a Laotian arrested in Fairfax County, Virginia, on charges of abduction and burglary.
- Patricia Pimental‑Cordero – a Dominican accused of two hit‑and‑run incidents in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
- Ramona Mercado‑Vasquez – a Dominican arrested in Middlesex County, New Jersey, for kidnapping and robbery.
- Karlett Zagal‑Salazar – a Mexican found guilty of drug trafficking in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
The agency’s latest data also show a dramatic 99.99 percent drop in migrants using Panama’s Darien Gap, a route many feared would flood U.S. borders. ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and the Coast Guard say they have kept the promise to “arrest and deport the worst of the worst” even as the federal government faces a shutdown.
McLaughlin explained that the shutdown “will not slow us down.” She criticized Democrats who continue to keep the government shut, arguing that ICE officers remain relentless in removing dangerous illegal aliens from the country. The message coming from the Trump administration is clear: the U.S. is tightening border controls, speeding up deportations, and handing down hard penalties for the most serious crimes committed by undocumented migrants.
Source: New York Post
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