All modern U.S. presidents, both Republican and Democratic, have attempted to . But their various strategies have , with the population hovering from 2005 to 2022.
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that has sowed , and policies that , Trump has pursued from those of any other modern U.S. president.
As who examines the history of U.S. immigration law and enforcement, I believe that it remains far from clear whether the Trump White House will significantly reduce the undocumented population. But even if the administration’s efforts fail, the fear and damage to the U.S. immigrant community will remain.
Presidents Bush and Obama
To increase deportations, in 2006 President George W. Bush began using workplace raids. Among these sweeps was the then-largest immigration workplace operation in U.S. history at a meat processing plant in in 2008.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement , 98% of whom were Latino. and arraigned in groups of 10 for felony criminal charges of aggravated identity theft, document fraud and use of stolen Social Security numbers. Some 300 were convicted, and 297 of them served jail sentences before being deported.
In 2008, Bush also initiated , a policy that sought to deport noncitizens – both lawful permanent residents as well as undocumented immigrants – who had been arrested for crimes. Some during Bush’s two terms in office.
The Obama administration limited Secure Communities to focus on the removal of noncitizens convicted of felonies. It deported a record , which led detractors to refer to President Barack Obama as the “.”
Obama also and pursued to the U.S. Almost all of these policies built on Bush’s, although Obama virtually abandoned workplace raids.
Despite these enforcement measures, Obama also initiated , or DACA, in 2012. The policy provided relief from deportation and gave work authorization to who came to the United States as children.
Obama deported about , but did not decrease dramatically.
The first Trump administration and Biden
Trump’s first administration broke new immigration enforcement ground in several ways.
He began his presidency by issuing what was called ” to restrict the entry into the U.S. of noncitizens from predominantly Muslim nations.
Early in Trump’s first administration, federal agents expanded immigration operations to include , which previously had been off-limits.
In 2017, Trump tried to , but in 2020.
In 2019, Trump implemented the policy that for the first time forced noncitizens who came to the U.S. border seeking asylum to wait in Mexico while their claims were being decided. He also invoked in 2020 to close U.S. borders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump succeeded in during his first term. However, there is no evidence that his enforcement policies .
President Joe Biden sought to relax – although not abandon – some immigration enforcement .
His administration championed by Trump. Biden also in 2021, and in 2023, .
In 2023, Biden sought to respond to migration surges in a measured fashion, by temporarily and increasing arrests.
In attempting to enforce the borders, his administration at times pursued tough measures. Biden . Immigrant rights groups criticized his administration when armed Border Patrol officers on horseback were .
As of 2022, the middle of the Biden’s term, an estimated
A second chance
Since his second inauguration, Trump has pursued a through in their scope.
In January 2025, process for any noncitizen apprehended anywhere in the country – not just the border region, as had been U.S. practice since 1996.
In March, Trump issued a to deport Venezuelan nationals who were members of , designated a by the State Department. In doing so, he invoked the – an act used three times in U.S. history during declared wars that from countries at war with the U.S.
Declaring an “” of migrants into the U.S. in June, Trump to assist in immigration enforcement in Los Angeles.
Trump also sought to dramatically upend citizenship to any person born in the U.S. He issued an executive order in January that would to people born in the U.S. to undocumented parents.
The birthright executive order has been and is mostly likely working its way up to the Supreme Court.
Under the second Trump administration, , but actual deportation numbers are in flux.
ICE in June in at least five years, roughly 30,000 immigrants. But deportations of noncitizens – roughly 18,000 – lagged behind those during the Obama administration’s .
The gap between arrests and deportations shows the challenges the Trump administration faces in making good on his promised .
or seek safety from and .
These issues have not been seriously addressed by any modern U.S. president. Until it is, we can expect the undocumented population to remain in the millions.
, Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies,
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