The "all of government" approach of the Trump administration in enforcing immigration laws is having the intended chilling effect. Independent journalist and Townhall alum Julio Rosas visited Tijuana, Mexico, on the southern border just south of San Diego, CA, and interviewed Mexican citizens and immigration resource organizations to get their perspective. What they reported is that the number of deportees, along with those coming to Tijuana to seek asylum, has dramatically decreased.
Migrants and Mexicans who work with migrants just south of San Diego told me there has been a notable decline in people coming to Baja California’s largest city before attempting to cross the border illegally.
Shelters and government officials have also noticed the number of deportees sent into Tijuana has notably decreased. This is not because there have been fewer deportations, but due to the Department of Homeland Security increasingly flying Mexicans further south and, in some cases, to other Latin American countries to discourage illegally crossing again.
“For migrants from Mexico and other countries who want to cross into the United States, the situation becomes more difficult every day, and the risks become much greater…At a certain point, that has caused people to stop coming to the border,” said José María García Lara, the coordinator for the Tijuana Migrant Alliance.
It's what we voted for and it is wonderful to get further confirmation that this is indeed happening.
Diana Ortiz Villacorta Ramírez, the municipal director for Migrant Services in Tijuana, said deportations from the U.S. have been as far south as Villahermosa, Tabasco, a 45-hour drive away, and Tapachula, Chiapas, a 48-hour drive away.
“Last year, we were receiving 100 or 200 people a day. Right now, we receive 10, 15 or 20 people,” she explained.
Most of the people interviewed are heavily invested in seeing border crossings swell again. The fact that their accounts are heavily peppered with Democrat and leftist talking points is a dead giveaway: violent raids, women ripped from their families, and children "disappeared." Not to mention the people being detained in horrible conditions, or deported to a country other than the one they absconded from. Even legal citizens [*clutch the pearls*] are being swept up! It's the standard claptrap that emits from people, political parties, and organizations that benefit from unchecked immigration and resent that their gravy train has been disrupted.
García Lara said the videos from DHS and anti-ICE activists showing “very aggressive” arrests tells people in Latin America the United States “does not want any more migrants in the country. That has resulted in far fewer migrants arriving here in border cities such as Tijuana.”
García Lara estimates Tijuana has seen an 80% decrease in migrants, Mexicans and other nationalities, coming to the city.
“Many people definitely returned to their cities of origin. Others returned to their countries of origin,” Villacorta Ramírez noted. For the migrants who have remained by the border, “we have seen the successful integration of many people, repatriated Mexicans as well as foreigners, of course.”
In fact, one person was clear that many illegal aliens are waiting it out, moving further north and staging until Democrats return to power, either after the midterms or in 2028. They know on which side their bread is buttered.
While Tijuana has gone through changes, that does not mean migrants are not watching the upcoming elections in November and 2028. Multiple videos on social media still show migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Central and South Americans who were part of a caravan that left southern Mexico in June told me they were heading north partly because they will have an easier time crossing should Democrats win the presidency and reverse Trump’s policies again.
Wonder which NGO is disseminating this information?
Another woman attributes the Trump administration's attempts to eliminate birthright citizenship as a factor. While the U.S. Supreme Court slapped down Trump's original executive order, the administration is still pushing to find fresh ways to enforce it, while activist judges push back.
It is not just Trump’s enforcement of immigration laws that has migrants deciding to not cross right now, it is also attempts at things like getting rid of birthright citizenship. Yesenia Ardón has been by the border for seven years after leaving El Salvador and deciding to make Mexico her home. Being a long-time resident, she has seen the effects of such attempts.
“Many people have chosen to stay because they have heard those comments,” Ardón said about Trump’s desire for ending birthright citizenship. “At the same time, they are afraid because they have heard about people being sent as far away as Africa.
The latest deportation stats also reflect the administration's efforts are paying off, with nearly three million having been removed.
Trump cuts migrant population by nearly 3 million; total U.S. population likely to drophttps://t.co/m6NOMel26m
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 3, 2026
Still too slow for some of us, but a good start, nonetheless.
President Trump has cut the illegal immigrant population by 2.3 million since he took office, according to a preliminary analysis of government numbers to be released Thursday.
The legal immigrant population is also down, falling by some 600,000 from January 2025 to July 2026, according to calculations from the Center for Immigration Studies.
The numbers mark the first time in nearly a century — since the 1930s — that the U.S. has recorded a sustained net decrease in migration. In fact, the country’s overall population is likely to show an unprecedented decline, said Steven A. Camarota, the center’s research director.
These policies, which started with Remain in Mexico, continue to be effective tools in the DHS arsenal. Also, as mentioned above, DHS' brilliant use of social media has sent a resounding message: if you are here illegally, we will hunt you down and send you back from whence you came. If that homeland will not take you back, we'll find a country that will take you in. But you cannot stay here. FULL STOP.
The social media game by the administration on immigration is also giving Americans a literal perp walk of the criminal illegals apprehended and how well the enforcement apparatus is working.
If you are here illegally, we will find you, arrest you, and DEPORT you.
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) September 1, 2026
Yesterday, the men and women of ICE REMOVED these criminals from our communities:
Good morning, America.
— Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) September 3, 2026
Today’s deportation destination: HAITI pic.twitter.com/MdOwmK0Ev3
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin also continues to reinforce the administration's tough and directed stance.
WATCH:
“These individuals that we’re going after — I don’t care if you have a criminal background or don’t have a criminal background, you chose to break the law when you came across our border ILLEGALLY. It’s our position to hunt you down and send you back to where you came from.”… pic.twitter.com/OieRux8cti
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 2, 2026
The most telling portion of Rosas' interviews is at the end. Alejandro Martinez entered the U.S. illegally in 1961, and was only deported back to Mexico 14 years ago, after committing a felony and serving time. Martinez was collecting Social Security benefits over those 40 years of doing work that Americans won't do, but upon deportation, he was stripped of them. Martinez is clearly embittered by this, and it spills over into his criticisms of the Trump administration policies.
Cue the tiny violins. Martinez is totally lacking in awareness. The American voters who brought Trump back into office give zero you-know-whats about his pain; they are simply saying, "More of this, please."
WATCH [start video at 6:46]::
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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