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How many people were deported under biden administration
Executive summary
Available reporting shows that under President Biden the U.S. government carried out millions of “repatriations” (a term that aggregates formal deportations, expulsions and returns to other countries), with headline tallies in the 4–4.7 million range across his term when returns and expulsions are included [1] [2]. By contrast, formal removals (Title 8 deportations recorded by ICE) were far lower: one widely cited figure is about 271,484 ICE removals in fiscal year (FY) 2024 alone [3] [4].
1. How different sources count “deportations” — words matter
Journalists and analysts use several overlapping categories: “removals” or formal deportations (Title 8 ICE actions), “returns” and “expulsions” at the border (including Title 42-era expulsions), and broader tallies of “repatriations” that sum these actions. Migration Policy Project and multiple outlets report that the Biden era saw nearly 4.4 million repatriations when counting both deportations and expulsions/returns [1]. The Independent’s reporting gives an even higher cumulative “repatriations” number near 4.7 million, but cautions that combining types of returns inflates comparisons with prior presidencies [2]. Readers should note that aggregated repatriations are not the same as ICE’s formal removals. The difference explains why headlines can say “millions” while ICE’s annual removal count is much smaller [1] [3].
2. ICE removals vs. border returns — the big numerical gap
ICE’s published enforcement numbers show a sharp rise in FY2024 ICE removals—reported as 271,484 noncitizens deported to 192 countries in FY2024—making it the agency’s highest annual deportation figure in a decade [3] [4]. Yet many press pieces and research groups emphasize that when you fold in CBP returns and expulsions at the border (including Title 42-era expulsions that relied on cooperation from Mexico), the total “repatriations” attributed to the Biden years reaches into the millions [1] [2]. That distinction matters: ICE removals are formal orders that generally bar reentry; many border “returns” are administrative actions or expulsions that can be operationally different [1].
3. Why numbers rose: policy, border encounters and diplomacy
Analysts attribute the higher aggregate repatriation tallies under Biden to a surge in irregular border encounters coupled with policies that emphasized returns/expulsions at the border rather than broad interior sweeps. Migration Policy Project argues the Biden administration shifted enforcement to the border and relied on returns—an approach similar to past administrations during periods of high arrivals—and that Title 42 expulsions contributed substantially to the high repatriation count [1]. Media reporting also credits diplomatic work convincing countries to take back more deportees and Mexico’s increased cooperation as operational factors underpinning higher numbers [4] [5].
4. Contrasting interpretations and political framing
News outlets and advocacy groups frame the same numbers very differently. Some outlets highlight that Biden “expanded” deportations relative to early promises to pause interior removals and that aggregate repatriations surpassed recent presidential terms [4] [2]. Other commentators and fact-checkers emphasize that formal interior removals fell and that much of the numerical increase stems from border processing and expulsions, not mass interior deportation campaigns [1] [2]. The Trump administration and its supporters argue Biden’s totals are politically damaging; defenders note legal and operational constraints and point to targeted priorities [4] [1].
5. Year-by-year context and recent comparisons
Reporting shows FY2024 was particularly high: ICE’s FY2024 number (271,484 removals) was the agency’s highest in a decade and higher than any Trump-year ICE removals, according to newspaper coverage [3] [4]. Analysts calculating daily or monthly averages used FY2024 baselines to compare subsequent administrations—TRAC and Reuters cited Biden-era daily or monthly averages (e.g., a cited daily average of 742 removals in FY2024) when comparing removal rates [6] [7]. Those comparisons underscore that which denominator, time window, and categories you choose strongly affect whether Biden looks like a high- or low-deportation president.
6. What reporting does not settle (limitations and open questions)
Available sources do not provide a single, universally accepted “how many were deported under Biden” number because of divergent counting methods and because some tallies mix removals, returns and expulsions [1] [2]. Detailed breakdowns by legal category (Title 8 removals vs. Title 42 expulsions vs. administrative returns), by fiscal year, and by country of return are reported in parts (e.g., FY2024 ICE removals), but a consolidated official total framed consistently across all years of Biden’s term is not presented in the supplied reporting [3] [1].
7. Bottom line for readers
If you mean formal ICE “removals,” the most-cited concrete figure for FY2024 is about 271,484 [3]. If you mean all returns/expulsions plus removals—what many outlets call “repatriations”—reporting places the Biden-era total in the multi-million range (roughly 4.4–4.7 million) but with the important caveat that those aggregates combine distinct procedures and are not apples-to-apples with classic interior deportation counts [1] [2].