One year of Trump's second term: How US immigration rules have changed

A year into Donald Trump's second term, a deportation agenda has led to record departures and heightened H-1B scrutiny

In the year since Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, 2025, the United States has pursued a markedly restrictive immigration agenda. The measures, implemented through executive orders, proclamations and enforcement actions, have tightened legal pathways and intensified deportations. For Indian nationals, who form a significant share of skilled migrants and students in the US, the impact has been significant.

 

A rapid executive push on day one

 

On his first day, Trump signed an executive order titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion”, revoking several Biden-era immigration policies and directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prioritise enforcement against “inadmissible and removable” individuals, expand detention capacity and reinstate expedited removals. The order also restored the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office and imposed stricter limits on parole and Temporary Protected Status, according to the White House proclamation.

 

The order’s enforcement focus has contributed to greater scrutiny of visa holders, including H-1B professionals, with enhanced checks such as social media screening. This has, in turn, led to delays and denials for Indians seeking visa extensions or re-entry, as noted in a Forbes analysis of the 2026 immigration outlook.

 

Border security and asylum restrictions

 

The Trump administration declared a national emergency at the southern border and limited asylum access for those entering unlawfully. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) reports that border encounters fell sharply, with monthly figures averaging around 7,000 between February and November 2025. The US also ended the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One appointment system and expanded expedited removal nationwide, contributing to faster deportations, according to DHS announcements and tracking by the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA).

 

Deportations surge

 

Deportations have been a central pillar of the Trump administration’s strategy. DHS reported more than 605,000 deportations and over 595,000 arrests between January 20 and December 10, 2025, with total departures exceeding 2.5 million. Independent estimates by the New York Times and the MPI put deportations in the range of 540,000 to 622,000 over the first year. The MPI also highlighted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and detention numbers have increased sharply.

 

For Indian nationals, deportations rose to over 3,000 in 2025, the highest since 2009, according to MPI and the New York Times analysis. Many of these cases involved visa overstays or minor violations, straining families and affecting remittance flows.

 

Legal immigration becomes harder

 

The administration also tightened visa and entry rules, suspending immigrant visa processing for nationals of multiple countries and expanding travel restrictions. NAFSA’s tracking indicates that visa rejection rates hit a decade-high, while social media vetting expanded across categories. H-1B policy changes, including higher fees and wage requirements, have added further uncertainty, with Indians constituting about 71 per cent of H-1B approvals in recent years, as noted by the MPI.

 

A strained bilateral relationship

 

The immigration crackdown has coincided with broader trade tensions between the US and India. While the two countries issued a joint leaders’ statement in February 2025 to deepen cooperation under the US–India COMPACT (Commerce and Partnership Across Multiple Areas for Cooperation and Trade) initiative, analysts at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Stimson Center note that restrictive migration policies continue to test ties.