What were the total ICE removals (deportations) from the U.S. in 2025 and how do they compare to prior years?
Executive summary
ICE does not publish a single, final “total removals” figure for calendar 2025 in the materials provided here; multiple analysts estimate FY2025 removals in the hundreds of thousands — Migration Policy Institute estimates about 340,000 ICE deportations for FY2025 (which runs Oct 2024–Sep 2025) [1]. The Department of Homeland Security and allied outlets have cited much larger combined figures (DHS claimed 527,000 removals by Oct. 27, 2025 and later said over 2 million removals or self‑deportations since Jan. 20, 2025) but those combine voluntary departures, CBP returns, and other categories and are disputed by independent trackers [2] [3] [1].
1. What the official ICE numbers show — fragmented but large
ICE’s public enforcement spreadsheets and semi‑monthly statistics remain the primary source for removals, but ICE notes its data “fluctuate until ‘locked’ at the conclusion of the fiscal year” and the agency posts multiple tables (arrests, removals, detentions) rather than a single polished annual headline [4] [5]. Independent projects that ingest those ICE releases say the agency recorded deportations and related departures in the low‑ to mid‑hundreds of thousands for FY2025; MPI’s best public estimate using available ICE figures is about 340,000 ICE deportations in FY2025 [1].
2. Government claims vs. independent estimates — a sharp divide
The Department of Homeland Security’s public statements and the administration’s messaging present far higher totals when they combine “removals” with voluntary self‑deportations and CBP returns. DHS released a statement in late October 2025 claiming more than 527,000 “illegal aliens removed” [2] and earlier boasted “over 2 million removed or self‑deported since Jan. 20” with a breakdown that included roughly 1.6 million voluntary departures and “more than 400,000 deportations” [3]. Analysts and news outlets warn those aggregated figures mix categories that previous statistical practice kept separate and are therefore not directly comparable to prior years’ ICE removals totals [1] [6].
3. How reporters and data projects reconstruct totals
Journalists and data projects like the Deportation Data Project, TRAC and The Guardian have been stitching together ICE’s semi‑monthly releases, FOIA disclosures and other DHS tables because DHS publishing became irregular in 2025 [7] [8] [9]. Those reconstructions show that ICE’s internal counting methods and inclusion of voluntary departures from detention, expedited removals, and returns make year‑to‑year comparisons tricky. TRAC and MPI analyses both rely on ICE’s own semi‑monthly “Removals: FY2025” tables but produce different headline figures depending on which categories they include [9] [1].
4. Recent trends that affect totals — more interior arrests, expedited processes
Multiple sources document a shift in enforcement strategy in 2025: a large expansion of interior arrests (not just border apprehensions), wider use of expedited removal, and aggressive efforts to convert immigration‑court cases into fast removals [10] [1] [11]. That shift increased the number of people in ICE detention and the share removed directly from custody — conditions that tended to raise recorded removals even as some removals were contested in court [1] [10].
5. Independent watchdogs warn of opaque reporting and possible overcounting
Media and researchers say DHS and the White House have used broader definitions and mixed categories (self‑deportations, CBP returns, third‑country removals) to produce headline totals that are hard to verify against the historical ICE removals series — leaving room for both political spin and honest disagreement about magnitude [6] [8]. The Marshall Project and The Guardian emphasize gaps in ICE’s releases, making it hard to audit claims such as the administration’s “2 million” number [8] [2].
6. How 2025 compares with prior years — context, not a single number
Using ICE‑style removals only, independent estimates place FY2025 removals in the hundreds of thousands (MPI ~340,000), broadly comparable to or higher than FY2024 (ICE carried out almost 330,000 removals in FY2024 per DHS tables cited by analysts) but lower than some of the administration’s aggregated claims [1] [12]. If one accepts the administration’s broader aggregation (removals plus self‑deportations and CBP returns), the totals are far larger and represent a major jump from past administrations — but those aggregated totals are methodologically different from historical ICE “removals” counts and thus not directly comparable [3] [1].
7. Bottom line for readers
There is no single uncontested number in the reporting you provided: ICE’s raw tables, independent reconstructions and DHS political messaging produce different totals because they count different kinds of departures. For an apples‑to‑apples comparison with prior years, rely on ICE’s removals series (MPI’s calculated ~340,000 removals for FY2025 is the clearest independent headline available in current reporting) and treat the administration’s larger combined figures as a separate category that includes voluntary and CBP return events [1] [3]. Available sources do not mention a finalized, single calendar‑year 2025 removals total published by ICE that reconciles these differences [4] [5].