The Trump administration has launched an ambitious deportation initiative, but alongside high-profile removals, it is quietly pursuing a strategy to encourage millions of immigrants to leave voluntarily by creating challenging living conditions in the United States. The White House has emphasized its commitment to deporting individuals who entered the U.S. unlawfully, though it has encountered logistical, legal, and budgetary hurdles over the past 2½ months.
Encouraging Voluntary Departure Through Pressure
In addition to formal deportations, a parallel effort is underway to prompt immigrants to leave on their own. Both immigrant rights advocates and those favoring stricter immigration policies confirmed to the *Washington Examiner* that this approach seeks to influence immigrants’ decisions through sustained pressure. Mark Krikorian, executive director at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, noted that shifting immigrants’ expectations will require time, as many may hope to outlast the administration’s four-year term.
“What you’re trying to do is change people’s expectations. In three months, it’s hard to do,” said Krikorian, whose organization advocates reducing immigration. “The longer it persists, the more plausible it will be to illegal immigrants that this is the new normal. That is the key. … It’s not just a flurry of activity upfront that peters out over time.”
At a Michigan rally on Tuesday, marking his 100th day in office, President Donald Trump highlighted his administration’s immigration efforts to supporters.
“We are delivering mass deportation, and it’s happening very fast, and the worst of the worst are being sent to a no-nonsense prison in El Salvador,” Trump told attendees.
The administration aims to deport at least 1 million undocumented immigrants in the first year of Trump’s second term, surpassing the annual deportation totals from his first term. Since January 20, 61,000 undocumented immigrants have been removed from the U.S., excluding those apprehended at the border.
Logistical and Financial Hurdles in Implementation
Negotiations are ongoing with approximately 30 countries to accept deportees, including those not originally from those nations.
However, countries like Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua have refused to repatriate their citizens, complicating the process.
The immigration court system faces additional strain after nearly 50 Department of Justice immigration judges were dismissed or resigned shortly after Trump’s inauguration, reducing the judge count by about 10% and delaying millions of pending cases.
Cooperation with local jurisdictions remains inconsistent, as some “sanctuary” policies prevent local jails from transferring suspected criminal immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Detention capacity is another challenge, with ICE currently funded to detain only about 50,000 individuals at a time. All detainees, except those removed under the Alien Enemies Act, must appear before a judge for removal proceedings.
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, emphasized that funding will be critical to the administration’s deportation goals.
“Whether the administration achieves its goals of record deportations will depend primarily on Congress and, to a lesser extent, the courts,” Bier wrote in an email.
“If Congress appropriates the roughly $300 billion that the GOP budget reconciliation bill calls for, ICE will have literally decades of funding to carry the largest deportation campaign in US history. The courts may slow deportations to some extent, but ‘much more’ than a million is certainly achievable when money is no obstacle.”
A recent House Homeland Security Committee proposal allocated over $60 billion for border security, but it awaits Congressional approval.
