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How many people with valid visas were deported by ICE in 2023?
Executive summary
Available reporting in the supplied sources does not state a single, specific count of how many people with valid visas were deported by ICE in 2023; ICE’s public statistics cover removals broadly but do not break out “people with valid visas” as a distinct, aggregated category in the materials provided (not found in current reporting). Migration Policy Institute notes that ICE and DHS deport lawful permanent residents and visa holders under certain conditions, while ICE’s own statistics pages discuss removal totals and Title 42 expulsions without a clear visa-holder-only total [1] [2].
1. What the sources actually measure — removals, expulsions and interior enforcement
Federal and academic sources in the packet report overall removals and describe ICE’s role in interior enforcement but do not provide a clear line-item for “deported people with valid visas” in 2023. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations statistics focus on categories such as Title 42 expulsions and broader removal totals, and Migration Policy Institute gives averages and context on who is removable (including lawful permanent residents and some visa holders) but stops short of a specific visa-holder deportation count for 2023 [2] [1].
2. Who can be deported despite having legal status
The Migration Policy Institute and other explainers emphasize that lawful permanent residents (green-card holders) and temporary visa holders can be removable if they meet statutory grounds—criminal convictions, fraud, inadmissibility on reentry, or other INA provisions [1]. PBS reporting further illustrates that the government must show legal grounds to deport green-card or visa holders and that the process can be lengthy, using individual cases to show how lawful status does not make someone categorically immune from removal [3].
3. Reporting on visa revocations and targeted cases — not a complete national tally
News outlets included in your packet (BBC, Newsweek, The Independent) document a wave of high-profile visa revocations, increased detentions of people who once held visas, and individual deportations under a recent enforcement posture, but they report case counts (for example, “over 1,600 international students” whose visas were revoked in one BBC piece) rather than an ICE-wide total of deportations of visa holders in 2023 [4] [5] [6]. Those articles illuminate targeting priorities and political context but do not substitute for a comprehensive ICE statistic for 2023 on visa-holders removed [4].
4. Aggregate deportation numbers in the sources — what we can cite
MPI’s PDF places DHS removals in context with averages — for FY2020–24 DHS carried out an average of roughly 352,000 deportations per year and ICE was responsible for an average of about 146,000 annually — but that breakdown does not single out deportations of people who held valid visas at the time of removal [1]. ICE’s statistics pages in the set discuss Title 42 expulsions through May 2023 and program details but do not present a clear 2023 count limited to valid visa-holders [2].
5. Why a discrete count is hard to produce from available reporting
The supplied materials show multiple reasons: public ICE/DHS data commonly categorize removals by enforcement channel (e.g., border vs. interior, Title 42 expulsions) or legal status broadly (noncitizen, lawful permanent resident) rather than by “had a valid nonimmigrant visa at time of removal.” Academic explainers and news stories highlight individual revocations or categories (LPRs, visa revocations, TPS, DACA) but do not aggregate all valid-visa-holder removals into one published 2023 figure in these sources [1] [3] [4].
6. Competing narratives and potential agendas in the reporting
Advocacy-leaning outlets and law firms emphasize risks to lawful immigrants and anecdotal cases of detained visa or green-card holders, suggesting a policy-driven uptick in targeting; mainstream and government sources focus on statutory removability for people with convictions or fraud [5] [7] [1]. BBC and Newsweek coverage of visa revocations frames some actions as politically charged (e.g., campus protest-related revocations), while ICE’s mission materials frame removals as public-safety and law-enforcement activity — readers should note these differing emphases when interpreting counts and motivations [8] [4] [6].
7. What to do next if you need a precise number
None of the supplied sources supply the requested specific 2023 count for deportations of people who held valid visas at the time of removal; to obtain one you would need either: (a) an ICE/DHS dataset that disaggregates removals by visa status at time of removal, or (b) a freedom-of-information-type compilation from ICE’s enforcement databases. The current packet shows relevant categories and anecdotes but not the singular figure you asked for (not found in current reporting; [2]; [9]0).
Limitations: This analysis uses only the provided items and therefore cannot draw on ICE data or reporting outside this set; if you can provide an ICE dataset or permit searching beyond these sources, I can attempt a deeper numeric reconstruction.