What is the difference between a DHS 'removal' and a 'return' and how are they counted?
Executive summary
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) treats "removals" and "returns" as distinct categories of repatriation: removals are formal actions that carry administrative (and sometimes criminal) penalties and usually follow an order of removal, while returns are movements out of the United States not based on a removal order and generally do not carry administrative penalties [1] [2]. DHS and its components count both as immigration events in their repatriation statistics, but they use different definitions and data sources—so comparisons across time or between agencies require care [1] [3].
1. What legally separates a "removal" from a "return"
A "removal" is the modern statutory term for what was historically called "deportation": it generally follows a formal process (including, in many cases, a removal order from an immigration judge or an administrative expedited removal) and creates a bar or other administrative consequences on future lawful reentry; DHS explicitly notes that removals carry administrative penalties and potential criminal consequences for reentry [2] [4]. By contrast, DHS defines "returns" as the confirmed movement of an inadmissible or deportable person out of the United States that is not based on an order of removal—returns are often voluntary or administrative departures and do not carry the same formal penalties attached to removals [5] [2].
2. How DHS counts removals and returns in its statistics
DHS counts removals and returns as repatriations and publishes them in its Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) tables and monthly enforcement reports, drawing on component systems like ICE’s IIDS/DSSDM and CBP records; persons repatriated multiple times during the reporting period may be counted multiple times as immigration events [1] [6]. The OHSS explicitly treats its unit of measurement as immigration events—meaning encounters, arrests, and repatriations are event-based rather than unique-person based—so totals can reflect repeated encounters with the same individuals [6] [1].
3. Which DHS components report which categories and why that matters
OHSS aggregates data from multiple components: ICE reports removals and internal returns, while CBP reports border removals, enforcement returns, and other dispositions; OHSS notes that ICE also produces its own statistics that may exclude CBP figures, so cross-publication totals can differ because of methodology and as‑of dates [3] [6]. Practically, that means a headline number for "deportations" can hide a mix of formal removals, voluntary or enforcement returns, and even Title 42 expulsions when that policy was in effect from March 2020 to May 2023 [1] [3].
4. Counting quirks and policy consequences to watch for
Because returns are often voluntary or administrative (and ICE sometimes uses "return" to report voluntary departures), a higher share of returns can make enforcement appear more lenient even as deportation-like outcomes occur—migration researchers note that the Biden-era surge in "returns" reflected a policy emphasis on voluntary departure and enforcement returns rather than formal removals [7] [8]. Additionally, expedited removal and reinstatement authorities allow DHS to effect removals without full immigration-court proceedings in some cases, and those administrative pathways affect both the legal consequences for individuals and how events are classified in DHS data [1] [4].
5. Limitations, transparency and how to interpret the numbers
OHSS warns that repatriation counts are based on live systems that can change, that component submission practices vary, and that statistical information is subject to revision—so reported totals are best interpreted as event-level operational measures rather than precise counts of unique people deported or returned [1] [6]. Independent analysts and Congress-facing summaries emphasize the need to read methodology notes: removals imply formal orders and future reentry consequences, returns are non‑order movements (often voluntary), and aggregated public "deportation" figures can conflate these distinct categories unless the underlying tables are examined [2] [3].