DHS Touts Claim That 2 Million Undocumented Immigrants Have Left the Country During Current Admin: 'And Stay Out!'

The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that two million undocumented immigrants have left the United States since President Donald Trump returned to office, a figure that includes both direct deportations and what the agency described as voluntary departures.

In a post on X, DHS shared an image declaring "2 million gone" and wrote: "In less than 250 days, 2 MILLION illegal aliens have left the United States. AND STAY OUT!"

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also shared the information crediting President Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and DHS law enforcement officers for the outcome:

McLaughlin amplified the information with Just the News, explaining that federal agencies have carried out about 400,000 deportations since January, while 1.6 million immigrants left on their own:

"It's a lot safer for the aliens themselves, for the public, for our law enforcement, and also it's a lot better financially, a lot more tax savings for the US taxpayer. And then in addition to that, there's been about 400,000 deportations themselves, so totally, about 2 million, but we're going to get those numbers up"

The 2 million figure largely aligns with an earlier estimate from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), which found 1.6 million undocumented immigrants had left voluntarily by mid-August. However, CIS cautioned at the time that its numbers may overstate the decline. The group noted that heightened enforcement could make immigrants less likely to respond to surveys or identify themselves as foreign-born, while also citing incomplete data for July 2025 as a source of uncertainty.

"All this should be kept in mind when interpreting the figures presented," the study concluded.

Immigration experts have echoed those concerns. Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Institute said in August that the government's intensified enforcement could skew survey results:

"We know the government is sharing Medicaid and food stamps and other data with [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] (ICE) and so answering a government survey may feel particularly perilous right now for someone who doesn't have firm legal status"

Trump has estimated there are 20 to 22 million undocumented immigrants in the country, meaning the administration's figure would represent roughly 10 percent of that total.