The number of new US permanent residency permits, known as green cards, has fallen by nearly half since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, while immigration arrests have sharply increased, the conservative Cato Institute said on Tuesday.
In a report, the Institute said that the Department of Homeland Security has suspended processing for many green card applications, a move that has allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to increase arrests of immigrants who previously had or were seeking legal status.
Those affected include refugees, people granted humanitarian parole, and spouses of US citizens, the report’s author, David J. Bier, said.
The United States approved about 34,000 green cards in January, down from 65,000 in the same month a year earlier, when Trump returned to office, according to the report, which is based on data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
At the same time, ICE detained more than 38,000 migrants in January, compared with 12,348 in January 2025, the report said.
“This is a deliberate effort to boost ICE arrests by thwarting people’s efforts to stay on the right side of the law,” Bier said.
He attributed the drop in approvals in part to policies that block immigrants already in the country, including refugees and humanitarian parole recipients, from adjusting their status to permanent residency.
Family-sponsored green card approvals have also declined by about 20 percent since the start of Trump’s current term, the report found.
Bier also cited a December order by Trump that halted immigration processing for 19 countries, including Cuba and Venezuela. The policy has since been expanded to 40 countries, including Nicaragua.
The report argues that the decline in green card approvals is linked to the administration’s broader deportation strategy, which relies on limiting immigrants’ access to legal status.
“The suspension of various green card pathways has permitted ICE to increase arrests of people who would otherwise have had legal status or been protected against arrest,” Bier said.
“Removing their legal status is a necessary precondition for removing people from the country,” Bier added.
