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Fact check: How many people did Biden deport
Checked on June 15, 2025
1. Summary of the results
The number of deportations under Biden's administration requires careful distinction between different types of removals and time periods:
- Traditional deportations (immigration orders) amount to approximately 649,000 since fiscal year 2021 [1]
- When including Title 42 expulsions and all forms of repatriation, the total reaches approximately 4.7 million, which is higher than both Trump and Obama's presidencies [1]
- Recent data shows 520,000 returns and removals from May 2023 to January 2024 [2]
- Through October, there were 6.5 million border encounters, with 2.8 million removals directly from CBP custody [3]
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual factors need to be considered:
- The removal rate has significantly changed: Under Trump, 31.1% of 2 million encounters resulted in removals, while under Biden, only 4.4% of 9.6 million encounters led to removals [4]
- Historical comparison: Obama had approximately 3 million removals, Trump had 2 million [5]
- COVID-19 impact: The numbers include Title 42 expulsions, which were pandemic-specific measures and inflate the total numbers [1]
- Recent trends: ICE removals dropped to 59,011 in fiscal 2021 but increased to 142,580 in fiscal 2023 [4]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The question itself is oversimplified and could lead to misunderstanding because:
- Different sources use different metrics (traditional deportations vs. total repatriations)
- Raw numbers without context can be misleading - while total repatriations are higher, the actual removal rate is lower [4]
- Conservative media like Fox News emphasizes the lower removal rate [4], while other sources highlight the total repatriation numbers [1]
- The current administration's handling of border encounters shows that 57% of total encounters result in some form of removal, return, or expulsion [3], suggesting a more complex picture than simple deportation numbers
Want to dive deeper?
How do Biden's deportation numbers compare to Trump's deportation statistics?
What is the difference between removals and returns in immigration enforcement?
How has Biden's immigration policy affected deportation rates since 2021?
What are the main factors influencing deportation numbers under different administrations?
How do ICE enforcement priorities under Biden differ from previous presidents?