Democratic mayors are trying to claim credit for last year’s marked decline in violent crime, yet the staggering 25% drop was nationwide and came in the first year of President Donald Trump’s new term.

The cause and effect are obvious: The Trump team made fighting crime a top priority — a reversal from the “criminal justice reform” emphasis of Joe Biden and #Defund Democrats — and got the expected results.

Per Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey, 2025 saw 2.16 million violent incidents — down from 2.83 million in 2024, for the largest single-year drop since 1973.

Aggravated assault fell 31%; motor vehicle theft, 30%; burglary and trespassing, 25%. 

Overall, households suffered roughly 3.5 million fewer property crimes.

America feels safer than it was — with huge side benefits.

Notably, researchers estimate that crime costs America tens of billions of dollars every year; stopping it does the opposite — encouraging investment, economic growth, and jobs.

Note, too, that Democrats opposed the policies that drove the crime drop.

Start with immigration enforcement.

Trump told Immigration and Customs Enforcement to do its job, and remove criminals who have no right to be here from the country.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Congress last May that ICE officers had arrested 44,846 people with criminal charges or convictions or pending charges between Jan. 20 and April 23, 2025, up 46% from the same period the year before.

He also told Congress that ICE had removed thousands of gang members from the country in that time, most of whom had criminal records.

Indeed, over 60% of those arrested by ICE in 2025 had pending criminal charges or convictions, per Lyons testimony.

Taking foreign criminals off the streets had a major positive benefit. And by rooting out foreign gangsters, ICE freed local law enforcement to focus on homegrown criminals.

Next, add the National Guard.

Some Democrat-run cities, like LA, refused to let Trump deploy troops. Others, like Memphis, and Washington, DC, cooperated.

The Guard brought visible policing back to our nation’s capital, making it a far more livable place.

So the irony is that Democrat mayors are taking credit for a drop in crime they did everything to resist.

Credit should also go to some strong local leaders, like NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose focused crime-fighting policies have made a huge difference in the city.

Credit, too, goes to voters who threw out George Soros-backed prosecutors across the country. 

Law-and-order works. Immigration enforcement works. 

And — like it or not — Trump’s policies, including ICE, are making America safe again.

Voters should think about that as they go to the polls, facing candidates who promise to “expel” or abolish ICE: They claim they’re fighting 𝘢bu𝘴e𝘴 — but the big loser will be public safety.