WASHINGTON − Two million immigrants without legal authority to remain the country have gone home during the first year of President Donald Trump's second term, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

"Two million have gone home already, people that were here illegally you have removed and sent home," Noem said at a Cabinet meeting Dec. 2. "We’re going to send more home for the holidays, too."

The push to reduce illegal immigration was a top priority for Trump. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has hired 10,000 officers, with the latest to arrive within 10 days, Noem said.

The reduction in 2 million immigrants is a difficult figure to corroborate and could include immigrants who were deported and who left the country voluntarily.

The right-leaning Center for Immigration Studies estimated a decline of 2.2 million foreign-born people during the first six months of the year, based on projections in the Current Population Survey of the U.S. Census. The figure represents the largest drop in one year in decades.

ICE statistics say 320,000 people were deported during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, which includes more than three months of removals during the Biden administration. ICE also shows 56,000 deportations during October and November.

Trump said deportations focus on the worst immigrants.

"The focus is on the bad ones," Trump said.

Noem had said on social media Dec. 1 she recommended to Trump the travel ban be expanded to 30 or more countries "flooding our nation with killers, leeches and entitlement junkies."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said focusing on migration ensures a safer and more secure country.

"Why has he focused on mass migration?" Rubio asked. "It's very simple. It's because no country is safe if you can just walk in without us knowing who you are. We've seen the destruction that that's wreaked, not just in our own country, but the impact that it's having in Europe and many other parts of the world."

Trump had imposed a travel ban on visitors from 12 countries and restrictions on visitors from seven others in June. The countries are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

Trump has also paused the review of permanent residency and asylum applications from Afghan nationals, after the shooting of two National Guard members on Nov. 24.

This story has been updated to add new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2 million undocumented immigrants left under Trump, Kristi Noem says

Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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