Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 21: U.S. President Donald Trump, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Attorney General Pam Bondi, visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on August 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation's capital. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The White House confirmed Wednesday that violent crime – particularly homicide – is declining at a significant rate under President Donald Trump’s leadership, fulfilling his promise to “make America safe again.”
The White House explained in a statement that “homicides are again on track to reach the lowest level in more than a century,” declining by 18 percent over the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Over that same time frame, carjackings are down 47 percent, motor vehicle thefts are down 20 percent, robberies are down 17 percent, and residential burglaries are down 13 percent.
When comparing the current crime rates to the peak over the past decade, homicides are down 51 percent, carjackings are down 73 percent, residential burglaries are down 56 percent, and motor vehicle thefts are down 51 percent.
Earlier this month, Trump praised his administration for reducing crime and explained that the progress was in large part due to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protecting the border and deporting criminal illegal aliens.
“The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done,” the president posted on Truth Social. “CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven’t been seen in decades. The Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden allowed 25,000,000 people to pour into our Country, unchecked and unvetted. Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out.”
Border security has remained one of the president’s key priorities since returning to office last year. In a June report, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stated that it “recorded the lowest encounter totals in agency history during the past year.” CBP explained that “Border Patrol apprehensions along the southwest border [over the past year] (90,084) were lower than a single average month under the Biden administration (155,485).”
The declining crime rate has been driven in large part by safer streets in America’s major cities – although some hotspots remain. Murders are significantly down in cities like Memphis, Tennessee (43 percent decline) that have opted to work with ICE and the Trump administration rather than against them.
Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) praised the Trump administration for its work in Memphis and urged other cities to follow its example. “Crime is down across the nation—and Memphis is the model, with a 40% decrease in serious crime,” Hagerty posted on X. “Together, with the help of [President Trump], [FBI Director Kash Patel], [Tennessee Governor Bill Lee], [Stephen Miller], and all of our state and local officials, we are making Memphis the safest city in America.”
Washington, D.C., has also seen a significant improvement in its crime problem following Trump’s deployment of the National Guard throughout the nation’s capital. The city has seen a 41 percent reduction in homicides compared to 2019 and is on pace to see its fewest homicides since 1990. Meanwhile, the number of carjackings has been cut in half, while robberies, rapes, and other violent crimes are also on the decline.
After years of rising disorder, violent crime is moving sharply in the right direction. By restoring border security, backing law enforcement, and confronting crime rather than excusing it, the Trump administration is proving that violence and lawlessness are a policy choice – and that safer streets are simply a result of stronger leadership.
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