Phxt EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown is rewriting the record books — more than 515,000 illegal migrants have been deported since his return to the White House, and officials say he’s poised to smash the 600,000 mark by year’s end.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is moving aggressively to fulfill one of its most high-profile promises: large-scale deportations of individuals living in the United States illegally. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), more than 515,000 illegal aliens have been deported since Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Officials say the administration is on pace to “shatter historic records” by reaching 600,000 deportations by the end of his first year in office.

“This is just the beginning,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told FOX News Digital in an exclusive interview. She said the administration’s immigration crackdown is already producing “dramatic, measurable results” and sending a clear message to undocumented residents: leave voluntarily or face removal.

In a September report, DHS announced that more than 2 million illegal aliens had either been deported or self-deported within just 250 days. The figure includes roughly 1.6 million individuals who left voluntarily and over 400,000 formal removals executed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). McLaughlin emphasized that this pace marks a fundamental reset in U.S. immigration enforcement. “We’re removing more criminal illegal aliens off our streets every day,” she said.

However, critics have questioned how the administration compiles its data, noting that the numbers often combine voluntary departures, ICE removals, and border returns under the broader label of “removals.” Analysts from TIME and CBS News argue that this method can inflate the perceived success rate of deportations.

Even so, McLaughlin insists that the administration’s strategy is both ambitious and effective. If current trends continue, DHS expects deportations to surpass the 600,000 mark by year’s end — a record level not seen in recent history. The campaign is being framed as a return to the strict enforcement policies that defined Trump’s first term. “The era of open borders is over,” McLaughlin declared, adding that growing numbers of migrants are turning back before reaching the U.S. border.

Not all data fully aligns, though. DHS’s earlier reports from April cited about 207,000 deportations at that time, suggesting the figures have since surged sharply. The administration defends its approach as a necessary correction to what it calls “years of lax enforcement” under previous leadership.

Legally, the White House has scored several wins, including a Supreme Court decision authorizing the deportation of certain criminal aliens to third countries. DHS has also expanded agreements with foreign governments to streamline the acceptance of deportees. Yet the effort faces major logistical hurdles — from limited detention space and transportation capacity to the complex diplomacy required for international repatriations.

Critics further warn that grouping voluntary departures with forced removals blurs the distinction between policy effectiveness and optics. Others argue that deporting migrants without criminal records undermines Trump’s stated goal of focusing on “the worst of the worst.”

As Trump approaches the end of his first year back in office, the deportation numbers will serve as a key benchmark for his administration’s immigration agenda. If DHS projections hold true, the total could exceed the record set during President Obama’s early years — though direct comparisons remain difficult due to differing methodologies.

For now, DHS maintains that the surge in enforcement is proof of progress. Still, immigration experts, civil rights groups, and the courts continue to question whether the administration’s methods — and its metrics — are as effective, sustainable, or just as its headline figures suggest.