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Where can I find official DHS/ICE data and independent analyses on removals under Biden?
Executive summary
For official DHS/ICE removal counts, consult ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations statistics and DHS Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) monthly tables — OHSS is described as DHS’s statistical system of record and is updated monthly [1] [2]. Independent analyses and trackers include Migration Policy Institute, TRAC, NPR, The Guardian, and research groups like the Deportation Data Project and CIS, which disagree sharply about trends and definitions such as “removals,” “returns,” and Title 42 expulsions [3] [4] [5] [6] [7].
1. Where to find the official counts — DHS and ICE portals
For the primary, agency-published numbers look first to ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations statistics page, which posts arrests, removals, detention and alternatives-to-detention figures and explicitly notes how some counts (e.g., Title 42 expulsions by charter flight) are presented [1]. DHS’s Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) publishes “Immigration Enforcement and Legal Processes Monthly Tables,” built from the OHSS Persist Dataset and updated monthly; OHSS describes itself as DHS’s immigration statistical system of record and documents data sources in table notes [2].
2. Key definitional traps: removals vs. returns vs. expulsions
Analysts warn that DHS/ICE use multiple categories. “Removals” are formal deportation orders; “administrative returns” and Title 42 expulsions are separate and often reported differently, which can double-count or hide activity depending on how you slice the data [3] [8]. Migration Policy notes the Biden years saw many “administrative returns,” and OHSS/ICE tables have separate series for removals and returns [3] [2].
3. Independent trackers and their perspectives
TRAC at Syracuse compiles semi-monthly ICE detention/removal statistics and produces time‑series comparisons; it has been used to compare daily averages across administrations and cautions about apples-to-oranges comparisons [4] [9]. Migration Policy Institute provides context on returns vs. removals and broader trends like diversification of migrant nationalities [3] [10]. NPR and university projects (Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley/UCLA) have used FOIA-derived datasets to test DHS claims and identified gaps between DHS public statements and FOIA records [7].
4. Contradictory claims and concrete numbers to watch
There is disagreement over magnitudes and interpretation. DHS/ICE and mainstream reporting cite high removal totals — ICE reported roughly 271,000+ removals in a recent fiscal year (often referenced around FY2024) and DHS has cited hundreds of thousands in its public statements [11] [12] [13]. The Guardian and TRAC found FY2024 removals among the highest in a decade, while conservative outlets and research groups like CIS emphasize drops in specific categories such as “removals of convicted criminal aliens” earlier in the Biden term [6] [12] [14].
5. Transparency concerns and FOIA-based checks
NPR reported that FOIA-based datasets from academic projects revealed significant gaps compared with DHS claims, and that DHS had not supplied supporting data for some of its public counts when pressed [7]. TRAC has litigated for more granular encounter-level records and warns that published semi-monthly series can mix fiscal-year cumulative buckets that complicate presidential-period comparisons [12] [4].
6. How to use the sources to answer your question practically
Start with OHSS monthly tables for the system-of-record monthly time series and ICE ERO statistics for operational snapshots [2] [1]. Then triangulate: use TRAC’s time-series dashboards and reports for detention/removal daily averages and fiscal-year comparisons [4] [9], Migration Policy for interpretation of returns vs. removals [3], and FOIA-based academic projects (noted in NPR) if you need encounter-level validation [7].
7. What the coverage does not settle and what to watch for
Available sources do not present a single reconciled dataset that resolves all disputes about which actions to count (e.g., expulsions at the border, voluntary returns, formal removals). Analysts disagree over whether the Biden years saw net increases or declines in different removal categories — much depends on whether you count administrative returns and Title 42 expulsions [3] [6] [12]. Expect continued debate and FOIA-driven reporting to refine the public picture [7] [12].
Actionable next step: pull the OHSS monthly tables for the fiscal period you care about, download ICE ERO semi‑monthly reports for operational detail, and compare those series to TRAC’s dashboards and Migration Policy’s analyses to reconcile removals versus returns and expulsions [2] [1] [4] [3].