Lost amid all of the negativity about the Trump economy, we have some actual numbers that show that illegal alien deportations are making a positive difference.
President Trump is proving that the executive branch can do a lot to help the U.S. economy by simply enforcing immigration law.
But what if legal immigration is as big a problem as illegal immigration?
American voters are sobering up to this real possibility and many are furious with the political establishment.
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday boasted about its deportation efforts lowering rents, particularly in red states like Texas.
DHS is reducing your rent, especially in states that cooperate with @ICEgov.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 25, 2026
Texas accounted for about a quarter of ICE arrests in July and posted the country’s sharpest rent drops, with San Antonio down 4.8%, Austin 4.3%, Dallas and Houston about 3%.
Miami’s average rent is…
"DHS is reducing your rent, especially in states that cooperate with @ICEgov," the agency posted. "Texas accounted for about a quarter of ICE arrests in July and posted the country’s sharpest rent drops, with San Antonio down 4.8%, Austin 4.3%, Dallas and Houston about 3%."
"Miami’s average rent is down 2.6%. Phoenix is down 4.2%. Atlanta is down 3.2%. Nashville is down 5.3%. New Orleans is down 8%," it added.
"Research shows that illegal-worker inflows push rents and home prices up. That inflow has been reversed in the states running the hardest interior enforcement," it continued. "Want lower cost of living: support mass deportations."
This would be a winning message on its own in a midterm elections year, one would think. Amid concerns about the cost-of-living, rising gas prices, and stubbornly high grocery bills, you would think it would resonate more with voters.
But a Wall Street Journal poll that touts itself as "bipartisan" points in a different direction.
The midterm elections explained in one graph from our new bipartisan @WSJ poll with @adamhgeller
— John Anzalone (@JohnAnzo) September 26, 2026
60% of voters feel that President Trump's economic policies have made the economy worse.
And 65% give the economy a negative rating.
61% give President Trump a negative job… pic.twitter.com/R5BPJmpWDR
"The midterm elections explained in one graph from our new bipartisan @WSJ poll with @adamhgeller: 60% of voters feel that President Trump's economic policies have made the economy worse," Democrat pollster John Anzalone claimed.
"And 65% give the economy a negative rating," he added. "61% give President Trump a negative job rating."
The Wall Street Journal's write-up on the poll results does not look on its face to be encouraging: "President’s approval rating drops to 37% in WSJ poll, lowest of any president heading into midterm elections in Journal polls dating to 1990."
So, does this mean that the Democrats will coast to victory on a "blue wave"? Not so fast.
A chart of rent savings vs. deportations shows that blue states are making life more unaffordable, partly by failing to enforce immigration law.
Yes, that actually checks out.
— state secession (@state_secession) September 26, 2026
Localities & states that require/allow LEO's to notify ICE about illegals in custody see more arrests & lower rents. pic.twitter.com/dArfvTxohB
Now, there is a lot to unpack here, so one shouldn't take this to mean that deportations are the only driver of lower rents in these primarily red states.
Housing demand has cooled in recent years in Texas and Florida, although those states continue to see a modest net influx of new residents. At the same time, several Texas cities, including several of those listed above, built up major housing inventories beginning in 2021.
It might also surprise residents of Texas and Florida to learn that despite the deportation of illegal aliens, the states are among the top at taking in legal immigrants.
Like the nation, every state and the District of Columbia had lower net international migration from July 2024 through June 2025 compared to the prior year, but the levels remained positive. Florida (178,674), Texas (167,475), California (109,278), and New York (95,634) had the highest levels of net international migration from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
So, the H1B controversy cannot be ignored here. If that pipeline for worker displacement were slowed or shut off, the gains for Americans would be tremendous. It wouldn't simply lead to better jobs for Americans (and that might entail our colleges actually focusing on training students for real jobs, rather than schooling them on intersectional basket weaving) but it would also lead to less demand and lower prices on many goods.
Thus, the frustration of many voters with the legal immigration aspect of the "affordability crisis" equation is reaching such a breaking point that Republicans are beginning to speak out about it.
Our message to corporate America is simple: We’re not going to let you lay off American workers so you can replace them with cheap foreign labor.https://t.co/Ct7CGfaGDp
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 24, 2026
"Our message to corporate America is simple: We’re not going to let you lay off American workers so you can replace them with cheap foreign labor," J.D. Vance remarked while promoting a recent White House Fact Sheet on an executive order to end H1B visa abuse.
The Order enhances program integrity in the H-1B visa program by improving interagency coordination and directing enhanced scrutiny of H-1B visa applications where there is a heightened risk that American workers would be laid off.
The Order directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to consult with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Education, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration in order to receive additional data for the administration of the H-1B program, such as data on wages, industrial conditions, and employment specialization.
The Order directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to consider petitioner employers’ recent or planned layoffs of similarly situated U.S. workers when considering H-1B visa applications.
The Proclamation renews the $100,000 fee requirement for certain alien H-1B visa applications first imposed on September 19, 2025 to curb abuses that displace U.S. workers and undermine national security.
The executive order does not go far enough, as Senator Jim Banks made clear while promoting his American Tech Workforce Act.
Over 700,000 American tech workers were laid off since 2022.
— Senator Jim Banks (@SenatorBanks) September 24, 2026
Nearly 700,000 H-1B visas were issued to Indian nationals in the same timeframe.
The H-1B program is a scam that directly hurts the American worker.
It’s time to pass my American Tech Workforce Act and end this mess. https://t.co/Y73bcGU4Et
"Over 700,000 American tech workers were laid off since 2022," Sen. Banks noted. "Nearly 700,000 H-1B visas were issued to Indian nationals in the same timeframe. The H-1B program is a scam that directly hurts the American worker. It’s time to pass my American Tech Workforce Act and end this mess."
FAIR summarized the highlights of the act in 2025.
In September, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced a bill designed to institute critical reforms to the H-1B visa system, closing loopholes that displace American workers in favor of cheap foreign labor. The FAIR-supported American Tech Workforce Act would:
• Raise the wage floor for H-1B visas from $60,000 to $150,000
• End the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program
• Replace the H-1B lottery with a system that awards visas to the highest bidder
The American workers' angst over being replaced by foreign workers is coming to a head. The Republican Party had better start doing more than lip service to solve these problems or it will only have itself to blame should it lose House or Senate control in the next few years.
Because if it's one thing that American voters have it is a short memory. And the argument that "it could be worse" is not a substitute for passing laws that make things better.
