U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Friday that, since President Donald Trump took office, more than one million undocumented migrants have voluntarily left the United States.
Noem also asserted that hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants with criminal records have been arrested since January.
Speaking at a press conference in Chicago, Noem framed the development as a historic milestone in border enforcement.
“This is the first time in this nation’s history that we’ve seen that kind of security at our nation’s border,” she said. “Our top priorities have been these two items: securing our borders and arresting dangerous criminals. We’ve been working on getting dangerous criminal illegal aliens out of our country — murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, human traffickers.”
According to Noem, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been tracking “self-deportations” using an agency-developed mobile application. She said the app allows DHS to confirm when individuals have left U.S. territory voluntarily, without formal removal proceedings.
“We also know that hundreds of thousands of people have left on their own, not utilizing a government program to do so,” she noted. “We believe over a million people have gone home on their own since we have started this administration.”
Noem further claimed that no undocumented migrants have entered the United States over the past three months — a figure, if accurate, that would represent a significant shift in migration trends and enforcement outcomes.
The announcement is likely to generate debate among immigration law experts, civil rights advocates, and political analysts.
Questions are expected to focus on how DHS defines and verifies voluntary departures, the methodology behind the one-million figure, and the broader implications for due process in immigration enforcement.
