One hundred days into President Donald Trump’s second term and critics are scrambling for talking points, clinging to a set of biased polls in a desperate attempt to paint a picture of failure. But they’re missing the border wall for the trees. Even if every other agenda item were stalled, sidelined, or sacrificed (which isn’t the case), the fact remains that Trump shut down mass illegal immigration and sealed the border — and that alone makes these first one hundred days a generational victory.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that between January 20 and April 1, “only nine illegal aliens were released into the United States, a staggering 99.99% decrease from the more than 184,000 illegal aliens who were released into the country under Biden during the same period last year.”
Tom Homan said Monday that in the last 24 hours, there were 178 illegal entries into the United States. Notably, according to Homan, the United States averaged 15,000 illegal entries into the United States daily under President Joe Biden.
In fact, the border has been so effectively sealed that even seasoned reporters are struggling to find migrants to report on.
“If Fox were to send me down there right now, I would have trouble finding a single migrant on camera,” Fox News’ Bill Melugin said in March.
CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez said, “Typically, when we go to the U.S./Mexico border, we at least see one group of people who are trying to cross into the U.S. illegally. We did not see a single migrant.”
According to the New York Post’s Jennie Taer, there has been a 94 percent drop in illegal border crossings when compared to the same time last year under Biden. Meanwhile, February saw the lowest amount of illegal alien crossings (8,300) in 25 years, according to Taer.
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This isn’t just a policy win, it’s a win for American culture and American way of life.
Mass migration — whether legal or illegal — is bad for the country. Living in America (let alone becoming a citizen) is not a global entitlement. It belongs to the American people. But America cannot survive mass migration at the levels we’ve seen because it is a cultural wrecking ball. Assimilation — real, meaningful integration into the American way of life — cannot occur when migration happens en masse. Millions of migrants (in this particular instance illegal migrants) arriving in a short period of time cannot be absorbed into the fabric of the nation.
America isn’t some hodgepodge of unassimilated foreign enclaves. It’s a nation built on shared traditions, common language, and a distinct cultural heritage. When millions pour across the border, they don’t instantly become American upon arrival. However, with controlled, limited immigration, individuals have the opportunity to integrate into a common national culture –and that’s exactly why shutting down the border — as Trump did — matters so much.
It’s not just about numbers, it’s about protecting America itself. When you end mass illegal migration, you stop the process of cultural dilution and national fragmentation. You give your institutions, your communities, and the American people the breathing room to stabilize. Trump’s border shutdown didn’t just halt illegal immigration — it halted the fast-track to de-Americanization. That’s a victory that transcends policy — it preserves the future.
That said, the work isn’t done. We still have millions of illegal aliens living in this country, and they must be deported. To be fair, the Trump administration has been roadblocked at nearly every turn by activist judges intent on sabotaging immigration enforcement.
Yet, the government is not powerless. While the administration touts the deportation of 65,682 illegal aliens and the arrest of 66,463, there are approximately 1.4 million illegal aliens who have been ordered removed by an immigration judge. Their removals should be immediate and no expense should be spared to get the job done quickly.
At the end of the day, there’s still a mountain to climb when it comes to deportation — violent criminals, visa overstays, cartel associates, and everyday border violators all need to go. But even acknowledging the unfinished business, the shutting down of the border is still a massive accomplishment.
In a time when political promises evaporate on contact with reality, sealing the border was the one that mattered the most — and Trump got it done within 100 days. Everything else can be rebuilt, but a nation without borders, without sovereignty, without identity? That can never be reclaimed once lost. Just ask the Romans.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
