Kristi Noem claims 1.6M migrants have left the country. Even the group behind the number admits it may be overstated

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Independent

Friday 15 August 2025 00:54 BST


So-called ‘ICE Barbie’ Kristi Noem has claimed 1.6 million migrants have left the country since President Donald Trump took office but the group behind the number says it may be overstated. The Homeland Security secretary, known for donning Immigrations and Customs Enforcement gear for publicity stunts, appeared on Fox News Thursday to share, “We have 1.6 million illegal immigrants that have left this country voluntarily.”

“I think these numbers just show exactly the genius of Donald J. Trump,” she said. “He said, ‘Kristi, if you’re gonna be my Homeland Security secretary, we’re gonna follow the law, you’re gonna do commercials, you’re gonna tell the world that no longer will we tolerate people being in our country illegally and that they need to go home.’”

Homeland Security posted on X Thursday, sharing what it said was “unprecedented” data showing, “1.6 MILLION illegals are OUT of our country in the last 200 days.” The data was from a release published by the Center for Immigration Studies, a non-profit research organization that describes itself as “low-immigration, pro-immigrant.” The non-profit analyzed data from the government’s Current Population Survey and found the estimated number of the illegal immigrant population in the U.S. in January was 15.8 million and it decreased to 14.2 million by July.

But there were some caveats the non-profit mentioned including the possibility immigrants may now be more reluctant to respond to the government survey because of “the recent stepped-up enforcement efforts.” “If this is the case, then our estimate of illegal immigrants based on the survey may be overstating the decline in their actual numbers,” the non-profit warned.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ice-barbie-kristi-noem-immigration-numbers-b2808082.html

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Full headline: ‘ICE Barbie’ Kristi Noem claims 1.6M migrants have left the country. Even the group behind the number admits it may be overstated