Trump Admin Sets New Record For Illegal Alien Prosecutions
The Trump administration has shattered previous records by launching more criminal prosecutions against illegal aliens in a single month than ever before — solidifying its aggressive stance on immigration enforcement and using the full weight of the Justice Department to back it up.
According to a new report, the Department of Justice charged over 3,000 illegal aliens in June with illegal reentry, a serious offense triggered when individuals re-enter the U.S. after having already been deported. In addition, DOJ prosecutors filed more than 3,200 cases for illegal entry alone, bringing the total number of criminal immigration cases to over 6,200 in a single month — a new high under any administration.
This surge in prosecutions is part of President Donald Trump’s broader “whole of government” approach to border enforcement, involving coordinated efforts across the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Officials say the crackdown is delivering results and deterring further unlawful entry.
In a statement, the DOJ emphasized its commitment to “using all available investigative and prosecutorial tools” to push back against what it described as an “invasion of illegal immigration.” Senior Trump officials have repeatedly described illegal immigration not merely as a law enforcement issue, but as a threat to national sovereignty and public safety.
Jonathan Fahey, former assistant U.S. attorney and acting ICE director during Trump’s first term, praised the effectiveness of the prosecutions. “They’re a great way to get a conviction, a great way to get a criminal off the street, and a great way to remove them from the country in an expeditious way,” Fahey said.
Illegal reentry charges are relatively straightforward to prove in court. Prosecutors only need to show that the defendant was previously deported and then reentered the country without authorization. Convictions are common and often followed by fast-track deportation, meaning the prosecutions serve as a strong deterrent.
New Mexico has emerged as a hot spot for these prosecutions, with 245 cases filed in May and 277 in June. That’s a dramatic increase from the monthly averages seen just months prior, when cases often hovered below 100. The pattern reflects the administration’s intensified operations along key border corridors.
This sharp increase in enforcement comes as the administration highlights historic declines in illegal crossings. Border Patrol apprehensions have plummeted by more than 90% since earlier peaks, and internal ICE reports estimate tens of thousands of illegal aliens have chosen to self-deport rather than risk arrest and prosecution under Trump’s second-term crackdown.
The prosecutions are just one prong of a multi-layered enforcement strategy that also includes mass deportation flights, expanded E-Verify mandates, criminal alien task forces, and civil litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions.
The administration’s messaging has remained clear: illegal immigration will not be tolerated, and the consequences will be swift and severe.
In June, President Trump signed a series of new directives expanding ICE’s authority and increasing DOJ resources for immigration cases. He also instructed the Department of Labor to penalize companies that knowingly hire illegal aliens, aiming to remove the economic incentive for unlawful presence in the country.
The record-setting prosecutions mark a defining shift in immigration policy — one that seeks to not only secure the border but also restore accountability in the interior of the country. According to White House officials, this strategy is already producing one of the most dramatic turnarounds in immigration enforcement in modern U.S. history.
As Fahey summed it up: “It’s not just about numbers — it’s about restoring the rule of law.”