White House Declares 'Era of Amnesty Is Over' as Asylum Grant Rates Plunge to 7%

The White House issued a major immigration enforcement assessment on April 12, 2026 declaring the 'Era of Amnesty Is Over,' claiming that asylum grant rates had fallen from over 50% under the Biden administration to approximately 7% under Trump — a reduction the administration attributed to a restored 'rule of law' in immigration courts. The statement also claimed that over 3 million undocumented immigrants had voluntarily left the United States since Trump took office and that zero undocumented immigrants had been released at the U.S.-Mexico border for 11 consecutive months. The administration presented these figures as evidence of successful deterrence from its mass enforcement campaign. Immigration advocates disputed several of the figures, particularly the '3 million voluntary departures' claim, noting that no independent data corroborated the figure and that the asylum grant rate decline reflected both policy changes and reduced court capacity rather than merit determinations.