It’s been a whirlwind eight months in Washington, and the headlines are dominated by talk of border security, immigration enforcement, and a dramatic shift in crime policy. According to recent remarks by Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) on Breitbart News Saturday, the Trump administration’s efforts on these fronts have yielded what she calls “tremendous success.” Hinson, speaking on August 16, 2025, painted a picture of a nation reclaiming its sovereignty and restoring law and order, both at the border and in the capital.
“It’s a new day in America,” Hinson declared, referencing reports that 1.6 million illegal aliens present in the United States at the start of the year are no longer here. “And we are respecting our borders again, and we’re respecting our sovereignty again. And I think what’s really, really important here is, when you look at those numbers, this is just the start.”
Hinson’s claims are bold: she stated that border crossings and so-called “got-aways” have dropped to zero, a feat she attributes directly to President Trump’s policies. “It’s truly incredible what he’s been able to do in this first eight months in office,” she said, emphasizing that the administration’s recent legislative victory—what she described as “one big, beautiful bill”—has provided additional resources for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. These agents, she noted, are now better equipped to enforce immigration laws and deport those in the country illegally.
“We should be deporting illegal immigrants… We’re a nation of laws. We need to be following those laws,” Hinson insisted. “And it’s very clear there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s not afraid to make sure we’re standing up for the American people.”
The sense of a new era isn’t limited to immigration. Hinson also pointed to a significant change in crime policy in Washington, D.C., where, she said, the police chief issued an executive order on August 15 or 16 allowing local police to work directly with ICE. “These people are so happy. They finally get to do their jobs,” Hinson remarked, lauding the “brave men and women in Washington, DC, putting their lives on the line dealing with all these dangerous thugs and criminals and gangs.”
She didn’t mince words about past policies either, blaming the “soft-on-crime” approach of previous years for turning the nation’s capital into a “crime ridden dangerous place.” For Hinson, safety is paramount: “If we don’t have safety, we don’t have anything. And that’s true in our nation’s capital and around the country.”
But what do these numbers and policies mean on the ground? For families like the Quets in Arizona, the stakes are heartbreakingly personal. Warren Quets, father of the late Nicholas Quets—a 31-year-old former U.S. Marine killed by cartel gunmen in northern Mexico—has become a vocal supporter of the Trump administration’s crackdown on organized crime. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Warren Quets didn’t hold back, blaming what he described as “failed border policies” under the Biden administration for enabling the violence that claimed his son’s life.
Nicholas was killed on October 18, 2024, while driving along the Caborca-Altar Highway. According to his father, Nicholas encountered a cartel roadblock of 11 heavily armed vehicles. The Sinaloa Cartel, Warren said, identified his son as an American based on his license plate and language. “They chased him down like a dog and shot him, like the cowards they were,” he told Fox News Digital.
Warren’s grief has turned into a mission for justice. He described the previous administration’s immigration policies as an “invitation” for those south of the border, with mass crossings facilitated by both coyotes and cartel members. “If they made it to the U.S. border, it would be a catch-and-release policy,” Warren explained, lamenting the incentives that, in his view, fueled chaos on both sides of the border.
He also criticized the role of some NGOs and local agencies, including churches and organizations that, he claimed, profited from the border crisis through donations and government funding tied to migrant processing. The closure of several shelters in Arizona, Texas, California, and New York earlier this year, reported by the Arizona Daily Star, marked a turning point. For Warren, these closures are evidence of a system that had grown unsustainable.
Yet, Warren sees hope in the current administration’s actions. “There is a message that targeting U.S. citizens any place in the world is no longer acceptable and comes with consequences. President Trump, you know, he’s directly responsible for sending that message, and that message is working,” he said.
The numbers seem to back up the sense of a dramatic shift. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks posted on August 1 that southwest border apprehensions hit a monthly record low in July, with only 4,399 apprehensions—down from the previous record low of 6,070 in June. For the third straight month, there have been zero releases. During the Biden administration, the record high was set in December 2023, with 249,785 apprehensions—most resulting in releases into the U.S. These figures are touted by Republicans and the Trump administration as a major victory.
Warren Quets also pointed to concrete policy changes spurred by his son’s death. On June 9, the Department of Treasury announced sanctions against “El Chapo’s” children and the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, citing Nicholas’s killing as a motivating factor. In July, the Department of Homeland Security referenced Nicholas while announcing the ICE arrest of Sinaloa Cartel affiliate Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. And, as reported by The New York Times on August 10, President Trump has secretly authorized military force against Latin American drug cartels, which were designated as foreign terrorist organizations in February 2025.
“[Trump has] been great to my family. He’s kept in touch with us. His administration kept in touch with us. He’s treated us like his family. And I think he would do that for anybody in this situation. So, I’m grateful for that. You know, Nick will not die in vain because Nick is now the reason for many of these changes,” Warren told Fox News Digital.
As the debate over border security, crime, and immigration rages on, the stories of families like the Quets and the policy shifts in Washington highlight the real-world consequences of decisions made at the highest levels. Whether these changes mark a lasting transformation or the start of a new chapter remains to be seen, but for now, supporters of the Trump administration see a nation on the move—determined to reclaim order, safety, and sovereignty.
