A Quiet Reversal With Loud Consequences: Net Migration Hits Negative Under Trump

America is used to being a place people move toward, not away from. But a new estimate from economists suggests 2025 may have flipped the script: more immigrants left the United States than entered, a turn not seen “in at least a half a century.” The Brookings Institution put it plainly: “There was a significant drop-off in entries to the United States in 2025 relative to 2024 and an increase in enforcement activity leading to removals and voluntary departures.” “We estimate that net migration was between –10,000 and –295,000 in 2025, the first time in at least half a century


