Homeland Security's Staggering Accomplishments in One Year, Including Finding Nearly 130,000 Missing Children

News Staff : Dec 30, 2025
Department of Homeland Security

Under President Trump, DHS and Department of Health and Human Services have located more than 129,143 unaccompanied children that the Biden Administration lost.

(Washington, DC) — [DHS.gov] Today, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) year-end accomplishments, celebrating one of the most consequential periods of action and reform in American history. (Screengrab image: via Fox News)

Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Noem, DHS is restoring the rule of law, delivering the most secure border ever, removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens, creating safer communities, strengthening cyber defense, fixing disaster response, launching initiatives that are reshaping American travel and national security, and making America safe for generations to come.

"In less than a year, President Trump has delivered some of the most historic and consequential achievements in presidential history—and this Administration is just getting started," Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. "Under President Trump's leadership, we are making America safe again and putting the American people first. In record-time we have secured the border, taken the fight to cartels, and arrested thousands upon thousands of criminal illegal aliens. Though 2025 was historic, we won't rest until the job is done."

In President Trump's first year back in office, more than 2.5 million illegal aliens have left the US because of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, including an estimated 1.9 million self-deportations and more than 622,000 deportations.

Since President Trump took office, fentanyl trafficking at the southern border has been cut down by half compared to the same period in 2024. The US Coast Guard (USCG) alone has seized enough cocaine to kill more than 177 million Americans.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has saved taxpayers more than $13.2 billion at DHS and returned key agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Secret Service back to their core missions.

Countless lives have been saved, communities have been strengthened, and the American people have been put first again. These are only a few examples of DHS' accomplishments under Secretary Noem that have positioned the US to enter a new era of national strength and a better future for all US citizens.

Below are more examples of DHS' accomplishments since President Trump took office on January 20th, 2025:

Most Secure Border in American History

In a matter of weeks, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) delivered the most secure border in American history. It has stayed secure ever since. Now, the wins keep piling up:

Under President Trump and Secretary Noem:

• Border crossings are down 93% year-over-year.
• Illegal alien apprehensions at the southwest border are down to an average of 245 per day.
• From May to November, seven consecutive months, the United States Border Patrol (USBP) released ZERO illegal aliens into the country.
• Under the Trump administration, there have been 73,329 total apprehensions along the southwest border, which is 53% less than the monthly average of 155,485 during the Biden administration.
• USBP nationwide apprehensions have averaged under 10,000 per month since President Trump took office – a level of sustained deterrence unmatched in modern border history.
• Fiscal Year 2026 has seen the lowest start to a fiscal year ever - 60,940 total encounters nationwide in October and November – lower than any prior fiscal year to date.
• CBP has seized 539,984 pounds of drugs—a nearly 10% increase compared to the same time frame in 2024.
• CBP awarded more than $5 billion in new border wall contracts, funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in record time. It also awarded a $37 billion acquisition vehicle to support this work to seal the border wall.
• CBP led the deployment of more than 130,000 feet of temporary barriers, to include concertina wire, along with the Department of War and the State of Texas, to secure critical gaps.
• CBP published 24 critical waivers, allowing the agency to cut through the bureaucratic red tape to expedite border wall construction.
• Since January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration has significantly increased CBP hiring, with monthly averages showing a 42.5% increase in CBP officer new hires, and an 84% increase in Border Patrol agent new hires, compared to the same time period last year.
• CBP implemented 41 Presidential Actions on trade, addressing illicit drugs, public safety threats, and critical imports.
• CBP assessed over $190.7 billion in tariff revenue and $266.7 billion in total customs revenue.
• CBP conducted 387 audits from January 20–November 7, 2025, identifying $1.43 billion in trade revenue and collecting $225 million.
• CBP ended de minimis duty-free treatment on August 29, closing loopholes exploited for narcotics and contraband.
• In August 2025, CBP created the National Targeting Center's Trade Fraud Targeting Cell to combat trade fraud schemes in support of current presidential actions.

Arresting and Removing the Worst of the Worst Criminal Illegal Aliens

Under Secretary Noem's leadership, DHS has arrested and deported hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal aliens across the country, including gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers, thanks to the brave men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), CBP, and other law enforcement immigration enforcement agencies. Seventy percent of those arrested by ICE are criminal illegal aliens who have been charged or convicted of a crime in the US.

DHS has removed more than 622,000 illegal aliens and 1.9 million illegal aliens have self-deported.

And, nationwide, ICE, CBP, and other immigration law enforcement are targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens for arrest and deportation through targeted enforcement operations in cities throughout the country:

• Operation Midway Blitz was launched in Chicago and the Midwest in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run car wreck caused by a criminal illegal alien.
• Operation Midway Blitz has resulted in the arrest of more than 4,500 illegal aliens.
• In the Minneapolis area, DHS has arrested more than 670 as part of "Operation Metro Surge."
• In Florida, Operation Criminal Return, AKA "Operation Dirtbag," has led to the arrests of more than 220 illegal aliens, including more than 150 sex offenders.
• In Massachusetts, Operations Patriot 1.0 and Patriot 2.0 have resulted in over 2,860 arrests.
• In New Orleans, Operation Catahoula Crunch has resulted in the arrest of approximately 370 illegal aliens since early December.
• In Los Angeles, more than 10,000 illegal aliens have been arrested.
• In Portland, Oregon, Operation Black Rose has resulted in the arrests of more than 1,240 illegal aliens to date.

DHS has also empowered state and local law enforcement to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.?

• DHS secured more than 1,255 signed agreements with state and local partnerships under Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g).
• Operation Tidal Wave, the first-of-its-kind 287(g) enforcement operation coordinated with state and federal law enforcement partners, resulted in 1,100 arrests in six days.
• Thanks to the 287(g) program, DHS partnered with the State of Florida on ?Alligator Alcatraz, the State of Indiana on the ?Speedway Slammer, the state of Nebraska on Cornhusker Clink, and the State of Louisiana on Louisiana Lockup to expand detention space by the thousands.?

DHS also launched the critically acclaimed, groundbreaking new web page, "Worst of the Worst" (wow.dhs.gov), which allows visitors to search through some of the hundreds of thousands of?criminal illegal aliens arrested during enforcement operations since the start of the Trump administration.

DHS Smashes Recruitment Records

• Launched Defend the Homeland;?an historic nationwide campaign aimed at recruiting Americans to join ICE?and help President Trump and Secretary Noem remove criminal illegal aliens.
• Since the campaign took off, ICE has received?more than 220,000 applications.
• ICE is on target to hire 10,000 new officers by the end of 2025. Some of these new officers are already on the job.
• Since January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration has significantly increased the velocity and volume of CBP hiring, with monthly averages showing a 42.5% increase in CBP officer (CBPO) new hires, and an 84% increase in Border Patrol Agent (BPA) new hires, compared to the same time period last year.
• USCIS has begun recruiting new "Homeland Defenders," who will better support the agency's mission and bolster efforts to combat fraud and other threats.
• Since launching the hiring campaign on September 30, USCIS has received more than 50,000 applications—the highest in agency history. The first Homeland Defenders began reporting for duty in early December 2025.
• Since January 20, United States Secret Service received over 91,000 applications to join its ranks.
• That is a 46% increase over the same period in 2024.
• In Fiscal Year 2025, the Coast Guard surpassed its recruiting goals with 121% of its target for the fiscal year, totaling 5,204 new members – the highest since 1991.

DHS Locates Biden's Missing Children

• Under President Trump, DHS and Department of Health and Human Services have located more than 129,143 unaccompanied children that the Biden Administration lost.

Secretary Noem Reopens Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office

• President Trump and Secretary Noem reopened the?Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE)?office so that Americans harmed by illegal alien crime have a voice in the government and a place to turn to for help. Shockingly, the Biden administration closed this office.

Fixing Our Immigration System so that the American People Come First

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is restoring integrity to our nation's immigration policies and has instituted dynamic changes to ensure that only individuals who love America, align with our culture, and share our values, are welcomed into the country... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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