As President Donald Trump moves to remove large numbers of migrants — including hundreds of thousands with criminal records — national crime figures are falling rapidly, yet several major media outlets say there is no clear connection between the two trends.
On Wednesday morning, Axios posted on social media, “Crime plunges in major cities despite Trump’s crackdown rhetoric,” alongside a report questioning the cause of the decline.
“The bottom line: Experts aren’t sure why violent crime continues to fall,” the article stated.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back forcefully, accusing the outlet of ignoring what she described as an obvious explanation.
“This ridiculous framing is why Americans don’t trust the media,” she said, adding:
President Trump securing the border, mobilizing federal law enforcement to arrest violent criminals, and deporting the worst of the worst illegal aliens is EXACTLY what’s driving the massive drop in crime.
Political commentator Scott Jennings also mocked the Axios framing, writing, “Funny way of saying: ‘Crime went down under Trump.’”
Axios later deleted its original social media post and replaced it with a revised version that read, “Violent crime dropped sharply across America’s biggest cities in 2025, according to new data reviewed by Axios.”
Trump administration officials have been outspoken in tying stricter immigration enforcement to improved public safety. Border chief Kristi Noem, speaking on The Bongino Show, credited the president’s policies for historic declines in violent crime.
Under the leadership of @POTUS Trump, the murder rate has plunged to a 125-year low — with especially steep drops in cities where the @dhsgov law enforcement undertook targeted immigration enforcement and crime prevention operations. Our nation has also experienced a steep decline in fentanyl deaths, which have dropped over 30 percent … We are not going back to how things used to be!
Earlier this year, on January 14, the White House released a statement titled “Mass Deportations Are Improving Americans’ Quality of Life.” The document argued that removing illegal migrants has contributed not only to lower crime rates but also to reduced housing costs and stronger wages and employment figures.
Despite those claims, several mainstream outlets have continued to question whether immigration enforcement is responsible for the drop in violent crime. At the same time, Republican candidates have highlighted enforcement data compiled under Noem to showcase arrests and deportations within their own districts.
The scope of the administration’s efforts was detailed in an internal Department of Homeland Security document leaked to CBS earlier this week. The document indicated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement made roughly 400,000 arrests of migrants — both criminal and non-criminal — during Trump’s first year back in office.
… 14% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in President Trump’s first year back in the White House had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by CBS News
…
The document lists 2,100 arrests of those with homicide charges or convictions; 2,700 arrests of those with robbery offenses; and 5,400 arrests involving individuals charged with or convicted of sexual assault. Another 43,000 arrestees are listed as having assault charges or convictions. About 1,100 had kidnapping charges or convictions and 350 had arson offenses listed.
Meanwhile, the Axios report accompanying the earlier tweet appeared to minimize any clear link between deportations and declining crime figures.
“The bottom line: Experts aren’t sure why violent crime continues to fall,” wrote the Axios reporter, who has publicly advocated for expanded migration.
The article itself cited new national data:
The big picture: The report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) shows declines across every major violent-crime category in 2025 compared to 2024. It features data from 67 of the nation’s biggest police departments, and confirms other studies on last year’s declines.
• Cities report that homicides overall fell 19%.
• Robberies dropped about 20%.
• Aggravated assaults were down nearly 10%.
In a December 2024 article, the same reporter, Russell Contreras, had written: “Immigrants arrested for homicides accounted for less than 1% of ‘at-large’ arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the last six years, an Axios review found.”
Administration officials have also argued that deportations provide economic benefits beyond public safety. They contend that stricter immigration enforcement reduces certain consumer costs, including automobile expenses. During Joe Biden’s presidency, officials say, increased migration contributed to higher used-car prices and insurance premiums, driven in part by auto accidents, thefts, and parts-related crimes.
{Matzav.com}