WASHINGTON — The Trump administration says U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has taken immigration enforcement actions affecting approximately 2.2 million people since January 2025, marking a significant expansion of efforts to restrict or terminate immigration status. The Department of Homeland Security announced the figure on October 29, 2026, identifying measures involving humanitarian protections, temporary immigration programs, work authorization and removal proceedings. As of November 2, the announcement remains an important measure of the administration’s enforcement priorities, although the government has not released a detailed statistical breakdown of the total.

According to DHS, USCIS carried out nearly seven times as many enforcement actions as during the final two years of former President Joe Biden’s administration combined. Officials presented the comparison as evidence that the federal government has shifted toward stricter screening, greater scrutiny of immigration benefits and more extensive use of administrative authorities to address immigration violations.

The department described the actions as efforts to revoke or terminate the status of people it identifies as being in the United States illegally. However, the announcement combines several different categories of administrative decisions and policy changes. It does not establish that all 2.2 million people have been physically removed from the country, nor does it identify how many ultimately lost immigration protections following individual decisions or litigation.

DHS also said the USCIS actions are separate from visa denials and revocations handled by the Department of State and deportations carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The distinction is significant because immigration enforcement statistics can cover different stages of a legal process, from initial government notices to final removal from the United States.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration’s enforcement figures demonstrated its commitment to immigration law. In the department’s statement, Mullin argued that enforcement should extend beyond border security to the integrity of the broader immigration system. The administration maintains that closer examination of applications, employment eligibility and humanitarian benefits strengthens national security and prevents misuse of federal immigration programs.

One major component of the reported enforcement activity involves Temporary Protected Status, commonly known as TPS. The program provides temporary protection from deportation and access to employment authorization for eligible nationals of countries affected by conditions such as armed conflict, environmental disasters or other extraordinary circumstances. TPS does not itself establish permanent residency, but it can allow recipients to remain lawfully in the United States for a designated period.

The administration has pursued the termination of TPS protections affecting more than one million foreign nationals from 13 countries, according to reporting published after the DHS announcement. Several termination decisions have faced litigation, and the status of particular groups can depend on court orders and effective dates. Consequently, a government decision to end a designation does not necessarily mean every affected person has already lost protection or become subject to immediate removal.

USCIS also identified denials of applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status as another enforcement category. Such applications can involve foreign nationals seeking permission to remain in the United States under an existing classification or transfer into another eligible classification. The agency said it was denying applications when it determined that no legal basis existed for approval. The announcement did not provide a separate count of these denials or identify changes in approval rates across particular visa categories.

Another element involves Notices to Appear, the documents used to initiate immigration removal proceedings. These notices require individuals to respond to allegations before an immigration judge. Issuing a Notice to Appear is not equivalent to a completed deportation. Depending on the circumstances, an individual may be able to contest the allegations, seek immigration relief or pursue other legal protections during the proceedings.

The administration has also changed employment authorization policies. On October 14, 2026, DHS published a final rule reaffirming restrictions on automatic extensions of certain Employment Authorization Documents. The changes originated in an interim rule issued in October 2025 and affect specified renewal applications, while preserving certain previously granted extensions and exceptions established by law or Federal Register notice.

For employers, work authorization policies have practical consequences because federal law generally requires businesses to verify employees’ eligibility to work in the United States. A delay or expiration affecting employment authorization can complicate staffing and compliance even when an individual’s underlying immigration case remains pending. The new DHS announcement did not specify how many people within the 2.2 million total were affected solely by employment authorization changes.

Humanitarian parole programs represent another area of enforcement. The Biden administration had established processes allowing eligible nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to seek temporary entry into the United States under specified conditions. Approximately 500,000 people were associated with the program, according to reporting on the subsequent termination efforts. The Trump administration has moved away from these categorical programs, emphasizing individual review of parole requests.

These administrative actions differ substantially from arrests and completed removals. A parole termination, an application denial and the issuance of an immigration court notice can each create different legal consequences. The October 29 DHS statement did not explain precisely how those categories were combined or whether the published figure excludes individuals affected by more than one action.

Independent research also provides a separate perspective on the administration’s broader immigration enforcement record. An October 21 analysis by the Migration Policy Institute estimated that DHS completed approximately 980,000 deportations during the first 18 months of Trump’s second term, through July 31, 2026. That figure includes removals and returns carried out through immigration enforcement agencies, rather than the wider collection of USCIS administrative actions reported in the October announcement.

The institute estimated that 69% of those deportations involved individuals initially intercepted at the border. It also found that deportations following arrests within U.S. communities increased over time, with the interior-arrest share rising from 28% in 2025 to 39% in July 2026. The findings indicate that enforcement has expanded inside the country while border-related actions have continued to account for a large portion of completed deportations.

Researchers have emphasized that the administration’s broader immigration figures require careful interpretation. The Migration Policy Institute noted that DHS has not published a comprehensive monthly enforcement report covering ICE and Customs and Border Protection arrests and deportations since January 2025. Analysts have consequently relied on records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and other available datasets to evaluate enforcement trends.

Those reporting gaps make it difficult to assess how the latest USCIS figure compares with previous administrations using identical definitions. DHS describes the increase as historic, but its October 29 release did not provide the underlying statistical tables supporting its nearly sevenfold comparison. The absence of detailed data also limits independent assessment of how many actions arose from individual adjudications versus changes affecting entire immigration programs.

The announcement comes as immigration remains a major national policy issue ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. The administration and its supporters have emphasized border control, stricter eligibility reviews and enforcement of existing immigration laws. Immigration advocates, meanwhile, have raised concerns about the consequences of changing humanitarian protections and the importance of legal procedures for individuals facing removal.

For affected immigrants, the immediate consequences depend on the specific legal status, benefit application, government notice or court proceeding involved. Some individuals may face the termination of temporary protections, while others may be involved in pending applications or removal cases. The overall enforcement figure does not establish the outcome of any particular person’s immigration matter.

The October 29 announcement therefore signals the scale of the administration’s immigration policy changes but leaves unresolved questions about their measurable effects. A fuller accounting would require DHS to disclose the number of actions in each category, explain its counting methodology and distinguish completed status terminations from proceedings or proposed changes that remain subject to legal review. Until those details are available, the 2.2 million figure is best understood as the administration’s reported enforcement tally rather than a verified count of people deported or permanently stripped of legal status.