US, Canada To UK: A Look At 5 Biggest Immigration Crackdowns of 2025

In 2025, immigration dominated global discourse, with governments in several Western nations bringing in policies to curb the inflow of migrants. The year started with US President Donald Trump implementing his sweeping anti-immigration agenda with stricter border enforcement and travel bans that affected dozens of countries. Conflicts, economic pressures, and housing crises heightened tensions, making the issue a top global political flashpoint.

The year also saw a surge of anti-immigration protests from London to Sydney and Toronto, triggered by growing backlash against decades of open-border policies. While each nation dealt with its own challenge, governments' failure to manage migration effectively – particularly by prioritising skilled immigration over low-skilled and refugee inflows – emerged as a common flashpoint across nations.

NDTV looks at the top five biggest immigration crackdowns of 2025.

United States

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Since Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2025, his administration has toughened immigration enforcement, with vows of deporting tens of millions of migrants – central to the Republican president's reelection bid. This has included Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in US cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and several elite American college campuses. This was followed by immigration arrests, removal flights and an executive order suspending the refugee programme and enforcing stricter visa policies.

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Last month, in the aftermath of the shooting near the White House, Trump bolstered his anti-immigration agenda with the expansion of the 2025 travel ban, initially targeting 19 countries but with potential inclusions swelling to as many as 30 nations. Team Trump has frequently cited national security concerns to push forward its immigration agenda, with hardliners arguing that doing so is necessary to fix parts of the system that, they say, have been exploited by immigrants coming into the country or those already residing in the US.

Canada

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Canada also started closing its doors to more visitors and temporary residents by approving fewer visas and turning away more people who reach its borders with official documents. Ottawa's clampdown on international students has hit applicants from India particularly hard, government data shows. About 74 per cent of Indian applications for permits to study at Canadian post-secondary institutions in August – the most recent month available – were rejected, compared to about 32 per cent in August 2023, according to immigration department data provided to Reuters.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has also proposed the Strong Borders Act, or Bill C-2, which increases restrictions on asylum claims by prohibiting migrants who have been in Canada for more than a year from applying for asylum. Currently, there is no limit on when migrants can file for asylum.

Australia

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Australia similarly restricted immigration in 2024-2025 to address housing strains from rapid population growth via newcomers. Rules targeted low-wage temporary migrants and students, prioritising high-skilled permanent residents to curb migration. The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese-led government abolished the Business Innovation and Investment Program, redirecting efforts towards skilled migration instead.

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A recent study showed concern over immigration at the 2025 Australian election doubled to 6 per cent, the highest on record, attributed to "the post-pandemic influx of immigrants and the resulting pressure on housing and infrastructure." "Immigration is clearly getting more political oxygen in the last few months than in the campaign," said Simon Jackman, co-author of the long-running Australian Election Study.

United Kingdom

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In its biggest immigration shake-up in nearly half a century, the UK is planning to bring in new rules to clamp down on soaring immigration figures. According to the Keir Starmer government, the new policy is designed to reward those who contribute and play by the rules. The new policy will double the standard qualifying period for settlement status in Britain to 10 years and impose stricter English requirements, with assessments of improvements in language skills embedded within the visa rules for applicants and their dependents.

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Overseas student visas, a category dominated by China and India, could also witness a tightening of the post-study graduate route visa offer from the current two years to 18 months. 

European Union (EU)

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The EU has not gone as far as the US in cracking down on immigration, but its shift is already profound. Across the political spectrum, centrists are joining staunch conservatives to push for a tougher line on undocumented migrants and roll back protections in an effort to make it easier to deport them. 

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Denmark's "zero" refugee policy has emerged as a popular model that other EU member states want to replicate. According to a New York Times report, European Union officials are working on new rules that would help to send asylum seekers to third countries. The bloc struck a recent deal to deploy agents in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not an EU member, to better police borders.