Report Exposes the Cost of “Compassion” at the Border

Yet another report confirms the Biden Administration’s so-called “compassionate” approach (i.e. lax enforcement) resulted in historic levels of illegal immigration. By 2023, at the height of the border crisis, more than one in four foreign-born residents in the U.S. were here illegally according to new analysis from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI): “Changing Origins, Rising Numbers: Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States”.

MPI’s analysis is similar to other estimates. These numbers remind us why illegal immigration – which is often a concern for voters – was a decisive issue in the 2024 election. The sudden surge in illegal immigration constituted a complete breakdown in the credibility of our legal system, which continues to operate a mass immigration program that is neither sustainable nor in the national interest. President Trump won on a promise to end and reverse the border crisis. Border encounters have nearly disappeared and over a million unauthorized migrants have returned home so far in 2025.

Pendulum Swings or Stability – Choose One

The historic drop in the unauthorized population this year was set up by the historic increase documented by MPI and others. Illegal immigration spiked under Biden and has plummeted under Trump. Each president approached immigration enforcement with a mind to do the opposite of his predecessor, and unless Congress passes lasting legislation, we are likely to see the pendulum continue to swing.

Most Americans would probably prefer a stable system that prevents illegal immigration in the first place and limits these wild fluctuations. To this point, however, Congress has not acted to provide that stability.

Loopholes Remain

All of the loopholes that the Biden Administration exploited to accommodate illegal immigration remain open.

• A future president could choose to parole inadmissible migrants into the country en masse.
• The next administration could once again allow smugglers to exploit loopholes that resulted in hundreds of thousands of children being pushed across the border.

Congress Must Act

This Congress was expected to reintroduce and pass H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, to close the loopholes in the system and permanently secure the border.

Without reforms like H.R. 2, Congress is keeping the possibility of another border crisis on the table.

H.R. 2 would lock in the security gains at the border and pass the critical mandatory E-Verify reforms that would crack down on illegal hiring and accelerate self-deportations. Absent H.R. 2 and E-Verify, the Trump Administration is leaning on ICE alone to reestablish credible enforcement. That approach – highly visible and widely amplified by the Administration and media – has engendered an inevitable backlash. In the face of historic enforcement using mostly blunt tools, the calls to once again stop most enforcement have already begun. Congress must not allow the pendulum to swing back towards Biden’s border policies.

Real Compassion Requires Conviction

NumbersUSA’s position has always been clear:
Those in the country illegally must be treated humanely, even as they are required to leave.

The border crisis may have subsided, but the crisis in the interior will be much harder to resolve. The effort to return millions of people who should not be here requires planning and conviction.

At times, those efforts make some Americans uncomfortable. Recently, Joe Rogan argued that anyone with a heart should oppose enforcing immigration laws uniformly.

 As I respond in the video below, many Americans share that view–but while their hearts may be in the right place, it’s a misguided and even deadly form of compassion.

Watch My Response

What Americans Really Think

A majority of Americans support deporting all immigrants who are in the country illegally, according to the latest Harvard-Harris poll. Three out of four Republicans hold that view along with 36 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of Independents.

Public opinion is more divided on how to achieve that goal.

NumbersUSA supports a mandatory E-Verify system to stop rewarding illegal aliens. Arrests, detentions, and deportations are necessary to show that our laws have meaning, but they’re not the only tools available.

With fewer options to work illegally, more unauthorized workers will return home voluntarily without the need to involve ICE. Congress must pass H.R. 2.

One More Thought on the Border

At the height of the border crisis in 2023, many in Washington argued that little could be done to stop the flow of inadmissible migrants. Some even proposed requiring a minimum level of illegal immigration during surges.

That theory has been proven false.
Securing the border was always possible–as the sharp decline in encounters and the unauthorized population now proves.

Border security is a choice. The only question is whether this Congress will leave that choice to future administrations–or pass H.R. 2 to secure the border permanently.