Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term as president on January 20, 2025, with one of his key campaign promises being to crack down on illegal immigration. That evening, Trump signed several executive orders related to immigration, including declaring a national emergency at the Mexico–United States border, blocking asylum seekers from entering the U.S., ending the process of "catch and release" for illegal immigrants, ending birthright citizenship for new children born to parents who are not U.S. permanent residents, suspending almost all refugee admissions to the U.S., and officially designating certain international cartels and criminal organizations as terrorists. Trump signed the Laken Riley Act on January 29, 2025, which mandates the detention of immigrants who are charged with or convicted of certain crimes.
Trump oversaw a sharp decrease in illegal border crossings after taking office in 2025. During the first few months of Trump's second presidency, illegal border crossings fell to the lowest level in decades.