(White House Press Release, December 15, 2025)
[On Monday], President Donald J. Trump [awarded] the newly established Mexican Border Defense Medal to U.S. service members for their extraordinary work to safeguard our nation’s southern border and uphold American sovereignty.
Under President Trump’s decisive leadership, the southern border has undergone a profound transformation to turn back the invasion unleashed by the Biden Administration — achieving levels of security unseen in decades. By reversing Biden-era failed policies and swiftly implementing robust enforcement, the Trump Administration has restored order, deterred illegal entries, and protected American communities from the threats posed by unchecked migration, transnational crime, and fentanyl trafficking.
Here’s what you need to know about the success of President Trump’s unprecedented border security effort in his second term:
- More than 2.5 million illegal aliens have been removed from the United States.
- For seven straight months, zero illegal aliens have been released into the country’s interior.
- Illegal border crossings have plummeted to the lowest level since 1970 — with the U.S. on track to see net negative migration for the first time in at least five decades.
- Highly successful immigration operations in so-called “sanctuary cities” across the country — including Los Angeles, Nashville, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Memphis, Charlotte, Boston, and Minneapolis — have removed tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens from their streets.
- The number of Americans dying from drugs has fallen every single month as the Trump Administration stems the flow of deadly fentanyl trafficked across the border.
- More than 62,000 migrant children — many of whom were lost by the Biden Administration — have been rescued from sex and labor trafficking.
- The Laken Riley Act was signed into law by President Trump, ensuring illegal aliens charged with violent crimes are detained.
- Americans have seen historic employment growth, with 2.57 million native-born Americans gaining employment and 1.03 million foreign-born workers losing employment between January and September.
- The number of new foreign students taking spots in higher education institutions has fallen by 17% over last year.
- Vetting of aliens working in the U.S. has been dramatically enhanced so evil, anti-American ideologies have no room to thrive in this country.
All we needed was a new President:
- Beginning on Day One, President Trump reversed dangerous, Biden-era policies that invited millions of illegal aliens into our country — reinstating “Remain in Mexico,” resuming border wall construction, ending catch-and-release, dismantling the “CBP One” app, suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, terminating taxpayer-funded public benefits for illegals.
- The Trump Administration declared deadly transnational gangs — including Tren de Aragua, MS-13, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the United Cartels, the Gulf Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, and the Michoacán Family — as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
- President Trump’s landmark One Big Beautiful Bill makes the largest-ever one-time investment in border security — allowing the Trump Administration to fortify the extraordinary progress for decades to come.
