How many deportations in the U.S. since 2010 involved noncitizens with criminal convictions?
Executive summary
Available reporting and official datasets show that counts vary by time frame and definition: Migration Policy reports that 79% of interior ICE removals in FY2021–24 were of people with criminal convictions [1]; ICE and DHS datasets and news analyses show large recent enforcement surges in 2025 with many arrests and removals involving people without criminal convictions—reports cite that more than 21,000 people with no criminal record were detained during a 2025 shutdown period and that in mid‑2025 some sources found roughly 71–75% of detainees or bookings had no criminal convictions [2] [3] [4]. No single source in the provided set gives a definitive cumulative total “since 2010” of deportations that involved noncitizens with criminal convictions [5].
1. What the official data and long‑term studies say
DHS and ICE maintain operational datasets (the OHSS Persist dataset and ICE ERO tables) that break removals into categories by “criminal conviction,” “pending charge,” and “no conviction,” and these are the building blocks for any precise total since 2010 — but the provided OHSS landing page only documents that such tables exist and are updated monthly; it does not itself report a simple cumulative total since 2010 [5]. Migration Policy’s 2025 explainer uses those operational distinctions to show that interior removals in FY2021–24 were heavily concentrated among people with convictions — 79% — which gives one recent benchmark for how many deportations involve convictions, but it covers a narrow timeframe, not 2010–present [1].
2. Why exact “since 2010” totals are elusive
Public sources in the packet include descriptive statistics, snapshots, and news counts for discrete periods (e.g., FY ranges, shutdown windows, or 2025 surges) rather than a single, validated cumulative number beginning in 2010. The OHSS monthly tables are the authoritative record to assemble such a total, but those tables must be queried and summed across years — a task not accomplished in the sources provided here [5]. Therefore, a precise nationwide sum “since 2010” is not contained in these articles and databases as presented: available sources do not mention a single, verified total for 2010–present [5].
3. Recent enforcement trends change the composition of deportations
Multiple sources document a significant shift in enforcement priorities in 2024–25. Axios and reporting examined FOIA data showing ICE arrest activity surged and began including many people without criminal convictions in interior enforcement operations, reversing the narrower Biden‑era prioritization [6]. Media and data summaries in mid‑2025 reported that a large share of detainees or bookings had no criminal conviction — TRAC‑style summaries and other aggregators put that share around 71–75% in parts of 2025, and The Guardian reported over 21,000 arrests during a shutdown period were of people with no criminal record [3] [4] [2]. Those figures indicate that counting “deportations involving criminal convictions” depends heavily on the period measured.
4. Competing interpretations: public‑safety framing vs. civil‑immigration framing
Administration officials emphasize targeting “criminal illegal aliens,” while critics and some data analysts say many deportations and detentions involve non‑violent or even non‑convicted people. Cato and other watchdogs point out ICE’s practices of treating dismissed charges or pending cases as grounds for removal and note that most removals historically were not for violent crimes [7]. Migration Policy and other neutral explainers show that many interior removals do involve convictions but that those convictions are often for a broad range of offenses, not only violent felonies [1].
5. What would be needed to answer the original question precisely
To produce an authoritative “since 2010” total the OHSS/Persist dataset or ICE ERO annual tables should be queried and summed for removals by conviction status from FY2010 through the most recent complete fiscal year; that granular, longitudinal aggregation is not supplied in the current reporting excerpts [5]. Researchers often rely on TRAC, Migration Policy, DHS monthly tables, or FOIA releases to assemble such a figure; none of the supplied items here presents that decade‑long cumulative tally outright [5] [3].
6. Bottom line for readers
The balance of reporting indicates that a substantial portion of interior removals in recent years have involved people with criminal convictions (79% for FY2021–24 per Migration Policy) but that 2024–25 enforcement shifts dramatically increased arrests and removals of people without convictions [1] [6]. Because the authoritative DHS tables exist but have not been summed in the provided sources, a single verified “since 2010” number is not available in the current reporting: available sources do not mention a definitive cumulative total for 2010–present [5].