What is the Department of Homeland Security total deportations figure for fiscal year 2024?
Executive summary
DHS reporting on fiscal year (FY) 2024 deportations is inconsistent across agencies and outlets: CBP said DHS completed “roughly 700,000 removals and returns” in FY2024 (CBP statement cited by DHS) [1], while multiple analyses and datasets from DHS’s Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) and ICE show removals (formal deportations) and returns reported on different counting bases — e.g., OHSS Yearbook 2024 and ICE ERO dashboards cover removals and returns separately [2] [3]. Available sources do not provide a single, authoritative “DHS total deportations for FY2024” figure that reconciles these different counts and definitions.
1. Numbers don’t all mean the same thing — removals vs. returns vs. repatriations
DHS components publish different categories: ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) tracks removals (formal deportations) and posts quarterly dashboards (data to Dec. 31, 2024) [3]; the OHSS Yearbook tabulates removals and returns across the fiscal year [2]; and CBP’s December 2024 release reported that “DHS completed roughly 700,000 removals and returns” in FY2024, a combined figure that aggregates actions across CBP and ICE [1]. Because “removal,” “return,” and “repatriation” are distinct in DHS publications, a single headline number can mask important definitional differences [2] [1].
2. CBP’s public summary: roughly 700,000 removals and returns
In its December 2024 monthly update, CBP stated that in FY2024 “DHS completed roughly 700,000 removals and returns,” and that this was more than any prior fiscal year since 2010 [1]. That figure expressly combines removals and returns and includes CBP-conducted repatriations and returns of noncitizens encountered at ports and borders, so it is a high‑level, aggregated DHS claim rather than an ICE-only removals tally [1].
3. ICE’s and OHSS’s reporting is more granular but not a single reconciled total
ICE’s ERO dashboards and press statements break enforcement into arrests, detentions and removals and display data through December 31, 2024 [3]. OHSS’s Yearbook 2024 likewise compiles tables on lawful immigration and enforcement (including deportations/removals and returns) for FY2024 [2]. These sources provide the underlying disaggregated counts but do not, in the excerpts provided, present one reconciled “DHS total deportations” number that resolves overlaps between agency tallies [3] [2].
4. Independent analysts report differing totals and highlight methodological gaps
Third-party organizations and journalism cite different totals depending on the data used and whether they include voluntary returns, CBP repatriations, or expulsions. For example, USAFacts reported through November 2024 about 312,000 removals and — when adding broader repatriation/expulsion categories — an approximate 678,000 repatriations year‑to‑date [4]. Migration Policy Institute and other analysts have cited cumulative deportation counts across multiple years but rely on OHSS and agency monthly tables, underscoring that totals vary with definitions and timeframes [5] [4].
5. Why figures diverge — data sources, timing, and counting rules
Differences arise because CBP, ICE, and OHSS collect and publish different slices of enforcement activity: CBP reports encounters and repatriations at ports and border sectors; ICE reports removals it executes (often tied to final orders); and OHSS aggregates and formats these data into yearbooks and monthly tables with specific definitions [1] [3] [2]. Agencies also update data after initial releases — ICE warns its dashboards are “one quarter in arrears” and that numbers can fluctuate until year‑end locking [3]. These timing and definitional issues prevent a single authoritative DHS total from being extracted from the provided excerpts alone [3] [2].
6. What reporting does and does not say — limits of current sources
Available sources explicitly state combined totals (CBP’s “roughly 700,000 removals and returns” for FY2024) and provide disaggregated dashboards and tables (ICE ERO dashboards and OHSS Yearbook) [1] [3] [2]. Available sources do not present, within the provided excerpts, a reconciled DHS “total deportations” figure broken down by removals versus returns with a single DHS-certified number that resolves overlaps between agencies; they also note data are revised and sometimes reported with lag [3] [2].
7. How to get a precise DHS total and reconcile counts
To produce a single authoritative FY2024 total you need to: (a) choose which categories to include (removals only, removals+returns, repatriations/expulsions), (b) use OHSS Yearbook tables and ICE ERO dashboards for disaggregated counts, and (c) reconcile any overlap between CBP and ICE actions. The OHSS Yearbook 2024 and ICE dashboards cited here are the primary DHS sources to consult for that reconciliation [2] [3]. CBP’s public statement gives a headline combined figure but should be read as an agency summary rather than a forensic count [1].
If you want, I can extract the specific table counts from the OHSS Yearbook 2024 and ICE ERO dashboards and produce a reconciled tally with assumptions clearly noted; that would require pulling the tables cited in the OHSS and ICE pages [2] [3].