Rolling Stone thought they were writing a hit piece about Trump destroying migrants’ dreams.
But they accidentally proved something much more important.
And Trump just got the biggest vindication of his border policies from the most unlikely source imaginable.
Rolling Stone tries to make Trump look bad for fixing Biden’s disaster
The liberal magazine spent months following Venezuelan migrants as they gave up on reaching America and headed back home instead.
Writer Paola Ramos wanted readers to feel sorry for these migrants and blame Trump for crushing their "American Dream."
But here’s what Rolling Stone doesn’t want you to notice.
The story actually exposes the chaos that Biden created during his four years in office.
According to their own reporting, more than 300,000 northbound migrants crossed the deadly Darién Gap jungle in 2024 alone under Biden’s watch.
That number dropped by 98% once Trump took office and started enforcing immigration laws again.
The United Nations confirmed that only 2,831 people made the dangerous crossing between January and March 2025.
You read that right – Trump’s policies worked so well that Panama’s president declared the migration crisis over.
But Rolling Stone treats this incredible success story like it’s somehow a bad thing.
The real story Rolling Stone accidentally told
Look, here’s what actually happened during the Biden years that Rolling Stone glosses over.
The magazine admits that Biden’s CBP One app turned the asylum process into a "lottery system" where migrants waited months in dangerous Mexican border towns.
These weren’t safe waiting areas – Rolling Stone’s own reporting says cartels ran these towns and subjected migrants to "kidnappings, extortions, and sexual violence."
So Biden created a system that forced desperate people to wait in cartel-controlled territory for months.
That’s the humanitarian crisis Rolling Stone doesn’t want to talk about.
The story follows a Venezuelan man named Edinson who spent six months trapped in this broken system Biden created.
He lived in a tiny apartment with 14 other migrants, sleeping on a foam mattress on the floor, barely leaving because of cartel violence.
Rolling Stone wants you to blame Trump for Edinson’s decision to go home.
But the real question is: Why did Biden’s policies trap this man in a cartel-controlled Mexican border town for half a year?
Rolling Stone admits Trump’s approach actually works
Here’s the part that should have Rolling Stone’s editors cringing.
Their own story proves that Trump’s enforcement strategy is getting results without the chaos Biden created.
Under Biden: 300,000 people risking their lives in one of the world’s most dangerous jungles, then getting trapped in cartel territory.
Under Trump: A 98% drop in dangerous border crossings and migrants choosing to return home safely.
Which approach actually protects human life?
Rolling Stone interviewed humanitarian experts who confirmed that "reverse migration" is less traumatic than the deadly journey north.
So Trump’s policies are literally saving lives by discouraging people from making a trek that Biden’s own policies made more dangerous.
But the magazine frames this as somehow cruel.
The American Dream isn’t dead – it’s just not for everyone
Rolling Stone gets dramatic about the "end of the American Dream" because fewer people are attempting illegal border crossings.
But that completely misses the point about what the American Dream actually means.
The American Dream was never about bypassing our immigration laws or putting your family through cartel-controlled territory.
It’s about following legal pathways to citizenship and building something better through hard work and opportunity.
Trump isn’t killing the American Dream – he’s protecting it by ensuring it remains available to those who respect our laws and follow proper procedures.
Every country in the world has immigration controls.
Having a system that actually works doesn’t make America less welcoming to legal immigrants.
What Rolling Stone doesn’t want you to understand
The real story here isn’t about Trump being mean to migrants.
It’s about the difference between a functioning immigration system and the chaos Biden created.
Under Biden’s watch, hundreds of thousands of people risked everything on a journey that often ended with them trapped in dangerous border towns for months.
Many died in that jungle or fell victim to cartels while waiting in Mexico.
Trump’s approach means fewer people attempt the dangerous journey in the first place.
That’s not cruelty – that’s results that actually save lives.
Rolling Stone spent months documenting Biden’s failed policies without ever admitting that’s what they were doing.
They followed migrants through a system so broken that desperate people were willing to risk everything just to sleep on a floor in cartel territory.
But instead of asking why Biden let this happen for four years, they attack Trump for cleaning up the mess.
The numbers don’t lie
Here’s what Rolling Stone’s own reporting confirms:
Biden’s approach led to 300,000 people making deadly jungle crossings in 2024 alone.
Trump’s policies reduced that number by 98% in just three months.
Migrants are now choosing safer options instead of risking their lives on journeys that Biden’s policies encouraged.
Panama declared their migration crisis over thanks to policies that actually work.
Rolling Stone can spin this however they want, but the facts speak for themselves.
A functioning immigration system saves lives by discouraging dangerous illegal crossings while maintaining legal pathways for those who qualify.
That’s not the end of the American Dream – it’s how you preserve it for future generations.
But you won’t hear Rolling Stone admit that anytime soon.
¹ Paola Ramos, "American Dream Deferred: The Great Reverse Migration," Rolling Stone, August 27, 2025.
