President Trump’s promise to curtail illegal immigration appears to be paying off.

A study by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) found that the U.S. foreign-born population has dropped by 2.2 million during Trump’s second term, reversing decades of record-high levels of immigration.

This trend is largely driven by the Trump administration’s decision to secure the southern border after the Biden regime welcomed in some 10 million illegal aliens over the course of his presidency.

The report states:

Based on the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) from January to July of this year the Center for Immigration Studies previously reported that the foreign-born or immigrant population (legal and illegal) declined by 2.2 million, with illegal immigrants accounting for nearly three-fourths of the falloff.

The August data shows a nearly identical number of immigrants as July, so the decline remains 2.2 million through August.

As we noted in our prior report, because of stepped-up immigration enforcement it is possible the decline “was due, at least in part, to a greater reluctance by immigrants to participate in the survey or to identify as foreign-born”.

However, based on multiple months of data, response rates to the CPS, continued willingness of survey participants to answer immigration-related questions, slowing job growth reported by employers, anecdotal evidence, and other data, we find no reason to doubt that the decline in the foreign-born is real.

The Current Population Survey continues to show a decline in the foreign born population.

The decrease might be dismissed as an anomaly if only one month showed a much smaller population compared to Jan.

But multiple months now show a large decline.https://t.co/JUFgpmXJhA

— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) October 8, 2025

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last month reported that roughly 1.6 million illegal immigrants had voluntarily left the country, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had carried out more than 400,000 formal deportations.

The agency recently confirmed that recorded the lowest level of illegal border crossings in 55 years over the current fiscal year, with fewer than 238,000 apprehensions along the southern border.

Trump closed our border in 48 hours.

We now have the fewest illegal border crossings in 50+ years, immediately after 4 years of record breaking illegal immigration.

The border crisis was not a failure by the Biden Administration. It was done on purpose. pic.twitter.com/i7m27w1Uge

— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) October 8, 2025

Last week, a poll from The New York Times found that a majority of Americans supported efforts to deport people who are living in the U.S. illegally, including nearly 20 percent of Democrats.

Meanwhile, just 24 percent of Americans said they “strongly oppose” the administration’s deportation efforts.

Ben Kew is a writer and editor. Originally from the UK, he moved to the U.S. to cover Congress for Breitbart News and has since gone on to editorial roles at Human Events, Townhall Media, and Americano Media. He has also written for The Epoch Times, The Western Journal, and The Spectator.

You can email Ben Kew here, and read more of Ben Kew's articles here.