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This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica’s Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.
On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump took the podium at his inauguration and promised to halt unauthorized border crossings and “begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens to the places from which they came.”
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune spent the first 12 months of Trump’s second term examining in real time how this drive to remove immigrants unfolded across the nation.
We collected data the government wouldn’t provide or didn’t track, including how many U.S. citizens had been held by immigration agents. We investigated the crowd-control methods federal agents used in Los Angeles and Chicago and spoke to the families of immigrants that the government sent to Guantanamo. After the Trump administration flew more than 230 men to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, we partnered with Venezuelan journalists to gather records and exclusive U.S. government data. The administration insisted these men were the “worst of the worst.” Our reporting showed that the vast majority did not have criminal convictions in the U.S.
The drive toward mass deportation tops the Trump administration’s list of first-year “wins.” Border crossings have plummeted and the number of people held in detention each day is reaching historic highs. As federal agents sweep across U.S. cities and towns, administration officials insist that this multibillion-dollar effort is making the country safer.
Reporter Perla Trevizo breaks down the dizzying first year of Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Has his administration fulfilled its promises — and if so, at what cost?
Perla Trevizo of ProPublica and The Texas Tribune contributed narration and reporting. Mauricio Rodríguez Pons of ProPublica contributed reporting and graphics. Lisa Riordan Seville of ProPublica was the senior producer.
Mica Rosenberg, Melissa Sanchez, Jeff Ernsthausen, Nicole Foy, McKenzie Funk, Gabriel Sandoval, Jodi S. Cohen, A.C. Thompson, J. David McSwane, Sebastian Rotella, T. Christian Miller, Mariam Elba, Joanna Shan, Haley Clark, Cengiz Yar, Kirsten Berg, Mario Ariza, Pratheek Rebala, Nick McMillan, Sarahbeth Maney, Rob Davis, Lomi Kriel, Maryam Jameel, Ruth Talbot and Hannah Allam of ProPublica contributed reporting, research and data analysis.
Ronna Rísquez of Alianza Rebelde Investiga, Adrián González of Cazadores de Fake News, Andrea Morales of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, Rafael Carranza of Arizona Luminaria, Gabrielle Schonder and Tim Grucza of FRONTLINE, and independent journalists Carlos Centeno, Adriana Núñez Moros, Gabriel Pasquini, Kate Morrissey and Coral Murphy Marcos contributed research and reporting.
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