U.S. Says More Than 3 Million Undocumented Migrants Have Left Country Under Trump

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says more than three million undocumented migrants have left the country since President Donald Trump returned to office, as the administration intensifies its immigration crackdown.

However, the figure does not mean that all three million people were forcibly deported. DHS says about 2.2 million people voluntarily self-deported, while hundreds of thousands were removed through formal deportation proceedings.

The administration has promoted the figures as evidence that its tougher immigration policies are working. DHS previously reported that more than two million undocumented migrants had left the U.S. by October 2025, including about 1.6 million voluntary departures and more than 527,000 deportations.

The development has generated debate over the reliability of the self-deportation estimates. The Washington Post reported that independent economists have produced significantly lower estimates of voluntary departures, while noting that official U.S. migration data remains incomplete.

Meanwhile, The Atlantic recently reported concerns over transparency in U.S. immigration statistics, following the resignation of the head of DHS’s Office of Homeland Security Statistics.

The Trump administration has also expanded its use of third-country deportation agreements, sending some migrants to countries other than their countries of origin. A Senate Foreign Relations Committee report and The Guardian reported that the U.S. had paid more than $32 million to five countries to accept roughly 300 third-country deportees.

The latest figures highlight the scale of Trump’s immigration crackdown, while also raising fresh questions over how many people were actually deported and how many left the United States voluntarily.