Foreign-born population drops 2.9 million as Trump Administration escalates immigration enforcement
WASHINGTON — The United States foreign-born population declined by 2.9 million between January 2025 and July 2026, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data done by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
CIS, a Washington-based immigration policy research organization advocating for lower immigration and mass deportations, estimates that the nation’s illegal immigrant population declined by approximately 2.3 million during the same period.
CIS estimates the illegal immigrant population fell from 15.8 million in January 2025 to 13.5 million in July 2026, while also claiming the figure is preliminary and that the reported changes in population reflect multiple factors, including deportations, voluntary emigration, legalizations, new arrivals and deaths. The decline follows an 8.3 million increase in the foreign-born population during the preceding four years, according to the analysis, which examines data from the Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey.
In response to the study, the White House Rapid Response team was quick to report on the story, crediting President Donald Trump and his mass deportation policies with the achieved decline.
President Trump has long made mass deportations and the reduction of the illegal immigrant population a core goal of his administration. In December 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that it had carried out around 605,000 deportations in the year of 2025, with ICE having recently reported in July of this year that it had carried out around 356,389 removals in fiscal year 2026, with the fiscal year set to end on September 30, 2026.
President Trump has also worked to terminate the Temporary Protective Status visas (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Venezuelans, while recently pausing all visa issuances to applicants from high-risk countries. Such countries including Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Somalia, and Sudan. These policies have contributed to the drop of over 90% in refugee admissions, 40% in student visas, and 25% in H-1B visas, as reported by the CATO Institute in April of this year.
The latest figures come as the Trump administration continues to make immigration enforcement a central focus of its second term. With the foreign-born population declining by millions and deportations continuing at a significant pace, the data provides an early indication of the demographic impact of the administration’s immigration policies.