The Trump administration has taken major strides towards restoring order to the U.S. immigration system. Since returning to the office, one of President Trump’s primary objectives has been to address U.S. immigration policy, with a focus on common-sense approaches within the immigration judicial system.
In October, 2024, the House Judiciary staff released a report detailing the policy of “quiet amnesty” embraced by the Biden administration. The approach failed to appropriately assess asylum claims, which, when combined with open border policies, led to a massive judicial backlog of cases. As a result, approximately 700,000 cases were dismissed or terminated, or administratively closed, allowing illegal aliens to remain in the country without immigration consequences.
The Trump administration has confronted the problem head-on, starting with the replacement of activist judges. According to a statement released by the White House, President Trump has taken “decisive action, replacing activist judges — who slow-walked deportations and granted asylum at sky-high rates — with professionals committed to enforcing the law, not undermining it.”
Data collected by the Executive Office for Immigration shows a historically low level of asylum claims granted under President Trump, with approximately 7 percent of claims approved. The figure marks a massive decrease from the 50 percent of claims that were approved under the Biden administration. Deportation orders from immigration judges have also risen sharply under President Trump. Immigration judges issued nearly 485,500 final deportation orders in 2025, a 57 percent increase from the approximate 310,000 orders issued in 2024, the final year of the Biden administration.
The Trump administration has also aggressively pursued the goal of expediting immigration cases, reducing the immigration backlog by over 380,000. The Department of Justice (DOJ) reports that in 2025, immigration courts completed the most cases in the history of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), and are on track to close even more cases in 2026.
The administration reiterated its commitment to preserving sanity in the U.S. immigration system and combating the failed policies of unfettered amnesty. According to the White House, “President Trump promised to end the open borders nightmare — and he is delivering on that promise with unrelenting force. The era of catch-and-release, mass releases, and activist judicial amnesty is over.”