How many immigrants has the Biden administration deported by year (2017-2025)?
Executive summary
Available public reporting and government-tracked datasets show large year-to-year swings in deportation/removal counts during the Biden presidency: the administration’s FY 2021 total was reported as about 59,011 removals, while FY 2024 totals exceed 270,000 removals (figures in reporting vary by source and by whether expulsions/returns are included) [1] [2]. Multiple analysts and news outlets stress that a large share of those actions were border “returns” or expulsions rather than interior removals, and that different trackers use different definitions and timeframes, producing divergent year-by-year totals [3] [4].
1. What the official and secondary sources actually report
Government reporting and analysts provide deportation/removal figures by fiscal year, but definitions differ: “removals,” ICE deportation counts, Border Patrol expulsions/returns (including Title 42-era expulsions) and voluntary returns are sometimes combined or separated in different datasets. Migration Policy Institute notes Biden-era totals are on pace to rival Trump-era totals yet emphasizes many were voluntary returns at the border rather than interior removals [3]. ICE and DHS published FY totals that multiple outlets cite when giving annual numbers [4] [2].
2. Key year snapshots cited in reporting
Reports cite a very low Biden-era figure for FY2021 (about 59,011 removals) and a dramatic rise through the term, with FY2024 reported at roughly 271,000–272,000 removals, described as the highest annual tally in a decade [1] [2]. News outlets and data trackers report the Biden administration deported “more than 270,000 people in a 12‑month period that ended in September” [2]. Migration Policy’s analysis likewise places Biden on pace to match Trump-era totals but stresses the composition of returns versus interior removals [3].
3. Why year-by-year tables diverge between sources
Differences arise because sources mix fiscal vs. calendar years, include or exclude Title 42 expulsions and voluntary returns, and use ICE removals versus DHS-wide “repatriations” totals. Independent trackers such as TRAC and news outlets that parse semi-monthly ICE reports find different counts than aggregated summaries released by DHS; TRAC noted FY2024 removals of 271,484 in its analysis, and also cautioned about how DHS aggregates figures across fiscal boundaries [5] [6]. Migration Policy and AP emphasize the role of border expulsions and returns in boosting counts [3] [2].
4. Interior removals vs. border returns — the crucial distinction
Multiple sources underline that many Biden-era “deportations” were recent border encounters rapidly returned or expelled rather than ICE interior removals of long‑settled noncitizens. Migration Policy explicitly says an “overwhelming number have come in the form of voluntary returns at the border, rather than removals of unauthorized immigrants from the U.S. interior” [3]. AP similarly reports that the high FY2024 tally was “helped by an increase in deportation flights” and by recent border encounters that are easier to remove [2].
5. Post‑Biden context and comparability problems
Early 2025 reporting shows the incoming Trump administration and various analysts contested head‑to‑head comparisons, with differing claims about whether removals rose or fell in early 2025 compared with Biden’s last months. TRAC, Reuters and other outlets produced contrasting reads of ICE semi‑monthly data, noting concealment of details and different baselines [7] [5] [6]. These debates underscore that simple year-to-year tallies across administrations can mislead without clear method alignment.
6. What’s missing or disputed in current reporting
Available sources do not provide a single, consistent year-by-year table spanning 2017–2025 that harmonizes fiscal/calendar year, distinguishes interior removals versus border expulsions, and reconciles DHS/ICE vs. independent tracker counts. Specific annual numbers for every year 2017–2025 are not present in the supplied material in a single harmonized series; instead the reporting offers select fiscal-year totals (e.g., FY2021 ≈59,011; FY2024 ≈271,000+) and analyst commentary [1] [2] [3].
7. How to get a defensible year-by-year series if you need one
To build a defensible table, request DHS/OHSS Yearbook and ICE ERO “Enforcement and Removal Operations” semi‑monthly datasets, decide whether to use fiscal or calendar years, and explicitly state whether you include Title 42 expulsions and voluntary returns. Migration Policy and TRAC explain these methodological choices and their effects on totals and should be used as guides [3] [5].
Limitations and caveats: this analysis uses only the provided reporting and datasets cited therein; divergent definitions and aggregation methods produce materially different annual totals, and available sources cited above explicitly caution against simplistic comparisons [3] [5] [6].