The Donald Trump administration has initiated action to revoke or terminate the immigration status of approximately 2.2 million people since the US president returned to the White House in January 2025, highlighting the scale of its immigration enforcement drive. The figure, shared by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with is nearly seven times the number of comparable actions recorded during the final two years of former president Joe Biden’s administration.
The measures have been undertaken primarily through the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and form part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to tighten immigration regulations, restrict humanitarian programmes and strengthen scrutiny of foreign nationals living in the country. However, the reported figure does not necessarily mean that all 2.2 million individuals have lost their legal immigration status. Several measures are still facing legal challenges, and the final number of people whose status has been terminated remains unclear.
A significant part of the enforcement drive involves efforts to discontinue Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than one million foreign nationals belonging to 13 countries. The programme allows people from countries experiencing armed conflicts, natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances to remain and work temporarily in the United States when returning home would be unsafe. Some of the administration’s decisions to withdraw these protections have been challenged in courts, delaying their implementation.
The government has also taken steps to end certain humanitarian parole programmes and introduce stricter eligibility checks for immigration benefits. One of the programmes being discontinued was introduced during the Biden administration and allowed approximately 500,000 nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to travel to the US by air after receiving prior authorisation. The Trump administration has sought to replace such broader arrangements with individual assessments of applicants.
Other measures include issuing Notices to Appear (NTAs) to foreign nationals, requiring them to appear before immigration courts in removal proceedings, and discontinuing automatic extensions of certain employment authorisation documents. The changes mean that some immigrants seeking to renew their work permits will have to undergo additional scrutiny before receiving permission to continue working.
The crackdown has also involved other federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the State Department. According to figures cited in the report, ICE deported approximately 421,182 people between October 2025 and August 24, 2026. Separately, the White House announced earlier in October that more than 300,000 visas had been revoked since Trump began his second term.
Among the revoked visas were approximately 4,000 associated with birth tourism and 6,000 held by foreign students who had either committed crimes or had links to terrorism, according to the administration. These visa cancellations and deportations are separate enforcement actions and should not be confused with the 2.2 million status-related actions reported by USCIS.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the government’s approach, saying the figures reflected Trump’s commitment to enforcing US immigration laws. He maintained that the administration was acting on its promise to strengthen immigration controls.
The developments come as the United States approaches its midterm elections. The Justice Department announced on October 26 that charges had been filed against 48 foreign nationals over alleged election-related offences, including accusations concerning voting and voter registration.
The latest figures underline the administration’s extensive efforts to review immigration permissions and tighten enforcement. At the same time, ongoing court proceedings and differences in the legal consequences of individual actions mean that the number of people who have definitively lost their immigration status is yet to be established.
