How do DHS/ICE annual removal totals under Trump compare to Obama and Biden administrations?
Executive summary
DHS/ICE removal numbers vary by administration and by how “removals” are counted: Obama’s two terms totaled millions (often cited as ~5.3 million across two terms) while Biden’s administration recorded roughly 271,000 removals in FY2024 and higher combined returns/removals in some years (for example, 775,000 removed or returned in FY2023) [1] [2] [3]. Early reporting on Trump’s second term (calendar/FY 2025 partial data) shows a mixed picture: some outlets and analysts find Trump’s pace of ICE interior removals near or below Biden’s FY2024 daily average, while others report substantial year‑to‑date totals for 2025 (examples: TRAC and NBC/ICE-derived counts vs. administration/advocates’ higher aggregates) [2] [4] [1].
1. Big-picture totals: Obama’s multi‑million removals vs. later presidents
Journalists and analysts repeatedly note that Obama’s two terms produced the largest multi‑year totals commonly cited in public debate — about 5.3 million removals across his eight years is a frequently referenced figure when comparing presidencies [1]. That scale is the anchor used by many commentators who label Obama the “deporter‑in‑chief” in comparative discussions [1].
2. Biden’s record is more mixed — removals vs. returns
Academic and policy reporting stresses that Biden-era enforcement produced a different composition of departures: many were “returns” or administrative/ enforcement returns across the border rather than formal removals under Title 8. Migration Policy noted that in FY2023 the government removed or returned roughly 775,000 unauthorized migrants — the highest since 2010 — and emphasized that returns (voluntary or rapid returns) dominated much of Biden’s statistics [3]. TRAC’s aggregation for FY2024 reports 271,484 formal ICE removals, yielding a daily average (742/day) that analysts use to benchmark later comparisons [2].
3. Trump (second term) — early indicators, contested pace
Multiple analyses of the initial months of Trump’s second term show competing interpretations. TRAC’s analyses comparing semi‑monthly ICE detention/removal reports found that early Trump FY2025 removals were slightly below Biden’s FY2024 daily average (e.g., TRAC reports a drop from 742/day under Biden to roughly 693–693–661/day in short windows) and concluded “little empirical evidence” early on that removals rose under Trump [2] [5]. Axios reported similar TRAC‑based results for Trump’s first six weeks with a daily average of 661 removals — an 11% decrease from Biden’s FY2024 daily average [4].
4. Administration claims and alternative tallies: divergent counting methods
Administration statements and some pro‑enforcement commentators have cited much larger 2025 totals (for all of 2025 or calendar‑year sums) by combining ICE removals, CBP expulsions/returns, and other categories; Newsweek and others reported claims of hundreds of thousands removed in 2025 across agencies (for example, assertions of 548,000 to date or higher) but these aggregates often mix CBP and ICE numbers and calendar vs. fiscal year periods [6] [1]. TRAC and Migration Policy caution that differences in reporting rules, the end of Title 42, and the mix of formal removals vs. administrative returns complicate direct apples‑to‑apples comparisons [2] [3].
5. Where the data limit clarity: gaps, aggregation and timing issues
Independent analysts note important data gaps: ICE published semi‑monthly detention management stats in 2025, but monthly or consistent public breakdowns (interior vs. border; ICE vs. CBP; removals vs. returns/expulsions) are incomplete or shifted by fiscal/calendar framing, hindering direct historical comparisons [7] [2]. TRAC explicitly warns that early administration claims that removals had “already surpassed FY2024” in 100 days were inconsistent with ICE’s own published statistics and FOIA follow‑ups [5].
6. Local and regional patterns add nuance
State and regional analyses show enforcement activity differed across jurisdictions. The Texas Tribune documented large numbers of ICE arrests in 2025 and sharp regional increases in interior arrests, noting ICE average daily arrests rose in some regions — signaling that national removal totals can mask local surges in interior enforcement [8].
Conclusion — what we can reliably say from current reporting: Obama’s two terms produced the largest multi‑year removal totals commonly cited (millions) [1]; Biden’s record included substantial returns and a FY2024 ICE removals total near 271,000 [2] [3]; early data for Trump’s second term through parts of 2025 show conflicting signals — TRAC and Axios using ICE data observe removal rates at or below Biden’s FY2024 daily averages, while some outlets and officials report much larger combined agency totals for calendar 2025 that mix CBP and ICE counts [2] [4] [6]. Available sources do not mention a definitive, single standardized table that reconciles all fiscal vs. calendar, ICE vs. CBP, and removals vs. returns figures for the full span of each presidency [7] [2].