We’ve now seen ICE operations rolling out across the country as President Donald Trump does exactly what he promised voters he would do: restore the rule of law after the border collapse engineered by Joe Biden.
And predictably, the Left is losing its mind.
As federal agents finally move to clean up the wreckage left behind by years of open-border insanity, Democrats and activist groups are responding not with reason, not with restraint, but with hysteria. Protests have erupted. Threats are flying. And in far too many cases, prominent Democrats are openly cheering obstruction, intimidation, and even violent retaliation against federal law enforcement.
There are also some very simple ways to prevent a lot of this chaos — but Democrats refuse to consider them because disorder is the point.
First, end sanctuary cities and sanctuary states. If local officials would simply cooperate with federal law instead of shielding criminals, ICE wouldn’t have to conduct street operations at all. Illegal aliens with criminal records would be transferred cleanly and lawfully from jails into federal custody — quietly, safely, and without theatrics. But Democrats would rather protect offenders than protect their own communities.
Second, people here illegally still have a choice: leave peacefully.
Self-deportation avoids confrontation, avoids arrest, avoids detention, and avoids removal proceedings. It’s the fastest, safest, and most humane option available — and it turns out a growing number of people are finally taking it.
The Department of Homeland Security reports that traffic to its self-deportation website has surged dramatically since Trump returned to the White House:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed record website traffic to the agency’s official site, with one of the most visited pages on the site including information on self-deportation through the CBP Home App.
DHS reported a 68.49% increase in traffic from 2024. The department reports that its website received 102 million page views last year and 67 million unique visitors — an increase from 40 million page views in 2024.
1.9 MILLION illegal aliens self-deported from our country in less than a year.
If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest. pic.twitter.com/liq90Z44BC
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 31, 2025
Those numbers are nothing short of remarkable — and they prove exactly what competent leadership can do in a matter of months.
According to reports, at least 100,000 illegal immigrants have already taken the DHS cash bonus to self-deport rather than face arrest and removal. No riots. No court battles. No detention centers. Just people making a rational choice once enforcement became real again.
And DHS isn’t shy about why this is happening.
The agency has openly credited President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for the turnaround. The message is finally clear, consistent, and credible: the border is no longer open, the law will be enforced, and illegal entry no longer comes with a lifetime guarantee of staying:
“Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Noem, DHS celebrated one of the most consequential periods of action and reform in American history in 2025,” a spokesperson from DHS told Fox News Digital in a statement. “From delivering the most secure border ever and removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens, to fixing disaster response and ushering in a golden age of travel, DHS will continue to build upon this success and innovate to find ways to deliver for the American people.”
We can expect the site to attract even more visitors in the future, especially after the department announced on Wednesday that it is increasing the bonus from $1,000 to $2,600. I would imagine that many people will do the math in their heads and see the potential benefits: “Do I want to get nabbed by ICE, or do I want $2,600 and a nice plane ride back to my home country, where a dollar goes a long way? Think I’ll take the money.”
DHS reports that since Trump’s presidency, 2.2 million undocumented immigrants have voluntarily left the country. Now the deal will be even more appealing:
“To celebrate one year of this administration, the U.S. taxpayer is generously increasing the incentive to leave voluntarily for those in this country illegally- offering a $2,600 exit bonus,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a release. “Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.”
The Left can squeal, moan, scream, and throw themselves into traffic all they want — and even try to physically disrupt ICE operations — but here’s the part they refuse to accept:
This is exactly what the American people voted for.
A clear majority of voters looked at the chaos Joe Biden unleashed at the border and said “enough.” Enough drugs. Enough gangs. Enough trafficking. Enough lawlessness. Trump didn’t hide what he planned to do. He ran on enforcement. He ran on deportations. He ran on restoring control.
And he won.
Nobody ever pretended cleaning up Biden’s border catastrophe was going to be easy, gentle, or politically comfortable. You don’t undo four years of deliberate sabotage without friction. You don’t dismantle an open-border pipeline without resistance from the activists who built it.
But Trump promised he would fix it. And now he is. Democrats hate it because millions of illegals help them stay in power – in states that welcome them and through the census apportionment of congressional seats they shouldn’t have. That’s why they’re all in trying to stop Trump.
They don’t care about ‘illegal aliens.’ They care about power; Trump and Noem are depriving them of it every single day. Yeah, I voted for that.
