Fact check: How many illegals came into the US under Trump??

1. Summary of the results

The analyses reveal that none of the sources provide a direct answer to the question about total illegal immigration numbers during Trump's presidency. Instead, the available data focuses on enforcement actions and border encounters:

• Current enforcement data: During Trump's second term, ICE arrested 66,463 illegal aliens and removed 65,682 aliens in the first 100 days ^[1]
• Border encounter trends: There was a dramatic 93% decrease in southwest border encounters in May 2025 compared to May 2024, with only 8,725 encounters recorded ^[2]
• Deportation context: Trump's first term saw approximately 1.5 million deportations, similar to Biden's four-year total ^[3]
• Public perception: 58% of Americans believe fewer people are now crossing the border to request asylum ^[4]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several crucial distinctions and contextual factors:

• Definition ambiguity: The sources highlight that immigration data involves different categories - Title 8 Apprehensions, Title 8 Inadmissibles, and Title 42 Expulsions - making simple totals misleading ^[5]
• Inherited conditions: The Trump administration inherited relatively quiet border conditions, making current low numbers less attributable to new policies alone ^[6]
• Historical perspective: California's undocumented population actually decreased from 2.8 million to 1.8 million over the past decade, suggesting longer-term trends beyond any single administration ^[7]
• Enforcement vs. entry distinction: The data focuses heavily on arrests and removals rather than actual entry numbers, creating a gap between enforcement activity and immigration flow measurement

Political stakeholders who benefit from emphasizing enforcement numbers include Trump administration officials and immigration hardliners, while those advocating for comprehensive immigration reform would benefit from highlighting the complexity and limitations of these statistics.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains several problematic elements:

• Loaded terminology: Using "illegals" as a noun is considered dehumanizing language that frames the discussion in a biased manner from the outset
• Oversimplification: The question assumes there's a simple, definitive number when immigration data involves complex categories and measurement challenges ^[5]
• False precision expectation: The framing suggests precise totals exist when the sources demonstrate that no comprehensive data on total illegal entries during Trump's term is readily available
• Temporal confusion: The question doesn't specify which Trump term (first or second), creating ambiguity about the timeframe being discussed

The question appears designed to elicit a specific type of response rather than genuinely seeking comprehensive information about immigration patterns and policy effectiveness.