Articles

# PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT: Border Security Achieved in Fewer Than 100 Days

The White House
April 28, 2025

Since President Donald J. Trump took office, he and his administration have ushered in the most secure border in modern American history — and he didn’t need legislation to do it. President Trump has made good on the promises he made on the campaign trail to usher in an unprecedented era of homeland security.

Here are a few of those promises:

PROMISE MADE: “We will close the border. We will stop the invasion of illegals into our country.” (10/12/24, Aurora, CO)

PROMISE KEPT:

- Illegal border encounters are down by 95%.
- Illegal immigrant “gotaways” — the top threat to public safety — are down by 99%.
- Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin: “If Fox were to send me down there right now, I would have trouble finding a single migrant on camera.”
- CBS immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez: “Typically, when we go to the U.S./Mexico border, we at least see one group of people who are trying to cross into the U.S. illegally. We did not see a single migrant.”
- The Wall Street Journal: Border Crossings Grind to Halt as Trump’s Tough Policies Take Hold
- The New York Times: How Trump’s Hard-Line Tactics Are Driving Down Migration
- CBS News: Amid Trump crackdown, illegal border crossings plunge to levels not seen in decades
- Axios: Border crossings plunge to lowest levels in decades: New data
- New York Post: Northern border sector previously overrun by illegal migrants sees dramatic drop in crossings: ‘We haven’t seen anyone since November’
- The Times: This city was a border flashpoint. Now the only migrants are quail
- Reuters: Migrant arrests at US-Mexico border in March lowest ever recorded
- Bloomberg: US-Bound Migration Plunges 99% Along Panama Jungle Route
- The Washington Times: Under Trump, border catch-and-release has dropped 99.99% from worst Biden month
- Los Angeles Times: California-Mexico border, once overwhelmed, now nearly empty

PROMISE MADE: “We will expel every single illegal alien gang member and migrant criminal operating on American soil and remove the savage gang, Tren de Aragua, from the United States.” (1/19/25, Washington, D.C.)

PROMISE KEPT:

- President Trump designated Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and other vicious gangs and cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
- Department of Justice: 27 Members or Associates of Tren de Aragua Charged with Racketeering, Narcotics, Sex Trafficking, Robbery and Firearms offenses
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem: “Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens — including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang.”
- The Trump Administration directed the successful apprehension of a key MS-13 gang leader — an illegal immigrant living in Virginia and operating as one of the top three MS-13 leaders in the U.S.
- The Trump Administration directed the successful arrests of three illegal immigrant MS-13 gang members in Florida, wanted on first-degree murder charges, and another high-ranking MS-13 member in New York, linked to 11 murders.
- ICE arrested 370+ illegal immigrants as part of a major operation in Massachusetts — many of whom have serious criminal convictions and charges, including murder, child rape, fentanyl trafficking, and armed robbery.

PROMISE MADE: “On Day One … We will begin the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.” (10/21/24, Concord, NC)

PROMISE KEPT:

- New York Post: Trump’s mass deportation raids result in 655% spike in arrests of terrorists roaming US — including one of India’s ‘most wanted’
- Since President Trump took office, there have been 139,000 deportations.
  - In President Trump’s first 50 days, ICE arrested 32,809 illegal immigrants — nearly 75% of whom were accused or convicted criminals — virtually the same number of arrests over the entirety of Biden’s final year in office.
- NBC News: Immigration enforcement operations ramp up in cities across the U.S.

PROMISE MADE: “I will immediately end the Biden border nightmare that traffickers are using to exploit vulnerable women and children.” (7/21/23)

PROMISE KEPT:

- The number of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children reached a record low.
  - At its peak under Biden, 4.6% of illegal border crossings were unaccompanied minors — many of whom were victims of trafficking. In the first two weeks of March under President Trump, just 0.4% of illegal crossings were unaccompanied minors.

PROMISE MADE: “Under my leadership, we will seal it up and expand that wall until we have total control.” (3/4/23, National Harbor, MD)

PROMISE KEPT:

- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: “More than 85 miles of new border barrier are already in various stages of construction and planning.”
- President Trump resumed construction of the border wall immediately, with dozens of miles of new construction underway.
- Santa Fe New Mexican: Construction to fill border wall gaps underway in Southern New Mexico
- NewsNation: “Border wall construction resumes in Texas”

PROMISE MADE: “You have the gotaways. You know what the gotaways are? It’s the people that don’t want to be looked at at all. So, they’re worse than the people we’re seeing that’s why they don’t want to be looked at.” (11/3/24, Macon, GA)

PROMISE KEPT:

- Border Czar Tom Homan: “Known gotaways — people we knew crossed the border … weren’t apprehended, weren’t fingerprinted, weren’t vetted. Average day under Joe Biden? More than 1,800 gotaways. Yesterday? 38 — 38 too many, but we’ll get that to zero. We went from 1,800 [per day] to 38.”
- Fox News’s Bill Melugin: “Border Patrol’s nationwide recorded gotaways have plummeted to a stunningly low daily average of just 77 over the last 21 days, according to internal CBP data we’ve reviewed. President Biden averaged 1,837 gotaways per day in fiscal year 2023 at the height of the crisis, totaling 670,674 for the year.”

PROMISE MADE: “I will ban all welfare and federal benefits for illegals, and then they won’t come.” (10/29/24, Allentown, PA)

PROMISE KEPT:

- President Trump signed an executive order to ensure taxpayer resources are not used to incentivize or support illegal immigration.
- The Trump Administration ended food stamps for illegal immigrants.
- The Trump Administration “clawed back” tens of millions paid to house illegal aliens in luxury NYC hotels and ended a $40 million contract to “improve … inclusion of sedentary migrants.”
- The Department of Education revoked waivers that allowed certain colleges to divert federal funds intended for low-income students and students with disabilities to illegal immigrants.

PROMISE MADE: “I will end catch-and-release.” (10/12/24, Aurora, CO)

PROMISE KEPT:

- Since taking office, the Trump Administration has arrested 150,000+ illegal immigrants, deported 139,000+ illegal immigrants, and released just nine illegal immigrants into the U.S. — a staggering 99.99% decrease over the same period last year under Biden.
- New York Post: Trump orders Border Patrol to immediately stop setting illegal migrants free in the US: ‘Catch and release is ended’
- The Washington Times: Under Trump, border catch-and-release has dropped 99.99% from worst Biden month

PROMISE MADE: “My administration will deliver justice for every family whose loved one has been stolen from them by migrant crime, including Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, Kayla Hamilton, and every other precious American soul that we have lost to these animals. Their memories will live in their hearts forever and our hearts forever, and we will never, ever forget them.” (1/19/25, Washington, D.C.)

PROMISE KEPT:

- Fox News: Trump signs Laken Riley Act into law as first legislative victory in new administration
- Newsweek: Laken Riley’s Mom Says Trump Didn’t Forget Her Daughter as Bill is Signed
- The Hill: Trump signs Laken Riley Act, marking first legislative win of second term

PROMISE MADE: “I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Think of that. 1798, this was put there. 1798 — that’s a long time ago, right? To target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.” (10/12/24, Aurora, CO)

PROMISE KEPT:

- The White House: Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua
- The New York Times: Trump Invoked the Alien Enemies Act to Speed Up Deportations

PROMISE MADE: “Kamala’s app for illegals will be shut down immediately — within 24 hours.” (10/12/24, Aurora, CO)

PROMISE KEPT:

- NBC News: Trump shuts down immigration app, dashing migrants’ hopes of entering U.S.
- The New York Times: Trump Shuts Down Migrant Entry App, Signaling the Start of His Crackdown
- Fox News: Up to 1M migrants who used Biden’s CBP One app ordered to deport by Trump admin

PROMISE MADE: “Today, I am announcing a new plan to end all sanctuary cities in North Carolina and all across our country… and we will bring down the full weight of the federal government on any jurisdiction that refuses to cooperate.” (9/21/24, Wilmington, NC)

PROMISE KEPT:

- Politico: Fresh executive order targets sanctuary cities, federal aid for undocumented migrants
- Reuters: Trump steps up immigration crackdown, warns city, state officials against interference
- The Wall Street Journal: Trump Plans to Withhold All Federal Funding From Sanctuary Cities
- Politico: Trump administration sues New York over sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants
- AP: Trump administration sues Chicago in latest crackdown on ‘sanctuary’ cities

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