San Antonio was one of several stops on a Texas fundraising tour by vice presidential hopeful JD Vance. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Ralph Branson

Vice President JD Vance visited Eagle Pass on Wednesday to tout the effectiveness of the Trump White House’s crackdown on immigration, the Associated Press reports. However, the numbers tell a different story.

Vance was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on a helicopter tour of Eagle Pass, a border town 150 miles south of San Antonio, the AP reports. The group also met with Gov. Greg Abbott and other officials.

While at the border, Vance argued that illegal crossings plummeted 39% over the past month, suggesting Trump was delivering on what the previous administration failed to do.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Vance told reporters. “We have seen pretty significant increases in deportations and apprehensive and arrests. But we have to remember, President Biden gutted the entire immigration enforcement regime of this country.”


Despite Vance’s boast, the AP reports the number of illegal border crossings had already experienced a sharp decline under Biden due to increased enforcement on both the Mexico and U.S. sides. Deportations were also higher under Biden than during Trump’s first term in the White House. Biden deported 4.6 million people while in office, far exceeding Trump’s 2 million, Newsweek reports.

In the first month of his second term, Trump has deported 37,660 people, lagging behind Biden’s monthly average of 57,000 removals during his last year in office, Reuters reports.

Nonetheless, Trump has repeatedly promised to deliver the largest deportation operation the nation has ever seen. Since taking office for his second term, he’s issued a flurry of executive orders aimed at immigration, including the return of his “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to stay on the other side of the border while they apply for shelter in the U.S.

Complicating the path for legal entry, the asylum process for the U.S. has also been restricted.

Pending asylum appointments were suddenly cancelled when U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down the CBP One app hours after Trump’s inauguration. As a consequence, migrants awaiting scheduled asylum appointments were stranded at the border, according to a Texas Tribune report.

The Trump administration has also been flashier with its deportations, conducting shock-and-awe campaigns with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, promising “mass raids” and placing shackled immigrants on planes bound for Guantanamo Bay.

Despite the headline-seeking posturing, a $230 million funding shortfall has hampered ICE’s ability to carry out Trump’s goal of deporting “millions and millions” of people, Axios reports.

So, while Vance publicly claimed victory on Wednesday, the New York Times reports private frustrations are growing within the White House over the pace of deportations.

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Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.