The United States government says it has deported more than three million foreigners in the 15 months since President Donald Trump returned to office, as his administration intensifies efforts to curb illegal immigration and tighten border enforcement.
The administration said thousands of those deported were individuals convicted of violent crimes, describing the removals as part of broader measures to strengthen border security and enforce US immigration laws.
In a fact sheet published on its website on Wednesday, the Trump administration said the measures were aimed at fulfilling the President’s campaign promise to overhaul the US immigration system, prioritise American citizens and protect the integrity of US citizenship.
According to the administration, Trump declared a crisis at the US southern border shortly after returning to office and signed an executive order directing immediate measures to restrict illegal immigration and strengthen border enforcement.
The administration also claimed that, for 15 consecutive months, no illegal immigrants had been released into the country, describing the policy as a major departure from the immigration practices of the previous administration.
As part of its citizenship enforcement measures, the government said it had launched what it described as an unprecedented denaturalisation effort targeting individuals who allegedly obtained US citizenship through fraud or were otherwise ineligible.
It said denaturalisation cases had so far been filed against 88 individuals who allegedly obtained citizenship despite failing to meet eligibility requirements.
The administration also said it had strengthened visa programmes and screening procedures, including suspending visa processing for nationals of 75 countries it considers high-risk. It said the measures were aimed at protecting national security and reducing visa overstays.
On access to public assistance, the government said it had terminated taxpayer-funded benefits for more than 1.4 million illegal immigrants who were allegedly receiving assistance improperly.
It added that undocumented immigrants had also been barred from more than a dozen taxpayer-funded healthcare programmes.
The administration said it had revised the US citizenship test to place greater emphasis on applicants’ knowledge of American history, government and civic values, while strengthening assessments of other naturalisation requirements.
It further disclosed that steps had been taken to remove tens of thousands of people identified as noncitizens from state voter rolls, arguing that only US citizens are legally entitled to vote in federal elections.
The administration presented the measures as part of a broader immigration enforcement strategy aimed at restricting illegal entry and ensuring that citizenship, public benefits and voting rights are reserved for people who meet the requirements under US law.