Trump claims 'record-low' illegal immigration in Feb, says US invasion over

Trump compared the figures to those under Joe Biden's presidency, saying, "300,000 Illegals crossing in one month under Biden"

US President Donald Trump recently claimed that February saw the lowest number of illegal border crossings in the country’s history.  

 

“The month of February, my first full month in Office, had the LOWEST number of Illegal Immigrants trying to enter our Country in History – BY FAR!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. He said there were 8,326 apprehensions at the US-Mexico border, with all detainees either deported or facing criminal prosecution.  

 

Trump compared the figures to those under Joe Biden’s presidency, saying, “300,000 Illegals crossing in one month.”  

 

He declared the southern border “CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants,” warning that anyone attempting to enter the US illegally would face “significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation.”  

 

"The Invasion of our Country is OVER", he said.

 

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is sending about 3,000 more active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border as Trump seeks to clamp down on illegal immigration and fulfil a central promise of his campaign, US officials said Saturday.

 

Registry of undocumented migrants  

 

Last week, the Trump administration announced a new registry requiring all undocumented migrants in the US aged 14 and over to self-report or face fines and prosecution.  

 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said those affected must provide fingerprints and their current address.  

 

“An alien's failure to register is a crime that could result in a fine, imprisonment, or both,” said a DHS statement. “For decades, this law has been ignored — not anymore.”  

 

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of DHS, said it would soon release details on the registration process.  

 

Mass deportations have been a focus of Trump’s immigration policy. US officials have identified around 18,000 Indian nationals they believe entered illegally.  

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in February that India would take back its nationals living in the US illegally and would also crack down on human trafficking networks.  

 

“These are children of very ordinary families, and they are lured by big dreams and promises,” he said during a visit to Washington.  

 

Undocumented migrants make up 3% of the US population and 22% of its foreign-born residents. The number of Indians among them varies depending on estimates:  

 

< Pew Research Center and the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) estimate around 700,000 undocumented Indian migrants as of 2022, ranking them third after Mexico and El Salvador.  

< The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) puts the number at 375,000, ranking India fifth.  

< The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports 220,000 undocumented Indian migrants in 2022.  

 

The wide range in estimates reflects uncertainty about the true size of the undocumented Indian population. However, Indian migrants make up only a small proportion of the overall unauthorised population. So far, 335 Indian nationals have already been deported.