TCT-IMM-002 · Immigration
Illegal immigration was at its lowest point when Trump left office
Statement and context
“The day I left office, we had the lowest number in history.”
2024-04-04, interview with Hugh Hewitt; variants repeated throughout the 2024 campaign.
What the evidence shows
The arrow on Trump’s campaign chart pointed near April 2020, when apprehensions collapsed during the early COVID-19 emergency, not January 2021. Apprehensions then rose every month through the end of his term. January 2021 averaged about 3,000 apprehensions per day, and the last three full months of his presidency were higher than the last three full months of the Biden administration ending September 2024. Earlier historical years also had much lower totals.
False
Sources and attribution
Tracker research synthesis; inspect the linked evidence and research record.