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Illegals deported under Biden
Executive summary
Available reporting shows deportations rose under President Biden through FY2024 — with sources noting a record ~271,484 removals in FY2024 and reporting that removals during his term surpassed prior records — and that early 2025 enforcement under the next administration produced rapid, contested numbers that different analysts interpret differently [1] [2] [3]. Whether increases are durable depends on policy, resources, and operational capacity cited by analysts and DHS data [4] [5].
1. What “deported under Biden” means — border vs. interior removals
Biden-era removal totals cited in public reporting mix different categories: “removals” (formal deportations ordered by immigration authorities), “returns” or Title 42 expulsions, and voluntary departures; DHS and ICE publications distinguish these categories in monthly tables [5] [6]. Migration Policy Institute and other analysts emphasize that the Biden administration’s enforcement strategy focused resources on recent border arrivals versus long‑settled residents, which shapes the makeup of who was removed [4].
2. The headline numbers: record removals in FY2024
Several outlets and aggregators report that removals rose during Biden’s term and that FY2024 saw unusually high totals — one site cites 271,484 removals in FY2024, and BBC reporting said U.S. removals under Biden surpassed Trump’s 2019 record [1] [2]. Migration Policy Institute reporting also notes a rise in deportations following asylum‑narrowing rules and administrative steps aimed at reducing encounters [4]. DHS’s own enforcement statistics remain the foundational data source for month‑to‑month tallies [5] [6].
3. Why removals climbed — policy, diplomacy, and capacity
Analysts link higher removals to a mix of factors: enforcement prioritization of recent arrivals, diplomatic engagement convincing countries to accept returnees, and administrative rule changes narrowing asylum eligibility that allowed faster processing and removals [4] [2]. Migration Policy Institute highlighted the June 2024 asylum‑narrowing rule as producing an initial uptick in deportations, while DHS materials outline capacity and resource choices that affect sustainment [4] [5].
4. Competing readings and contested comparisons
Different organizations and administrations frame the numbers to advance divergent narratives. Republican officials in 2025 claimed rapid deportations in early weeks of the new administration, but independent trackers and watchdogs parsed DHS series differently to show that cumulative FY counts overlap presidential transitions — making direct “apples‑to‑apples” comparisons tricky [3] [7] [8]. A Reuters analysis noted Trump’s early 2025 deportation pace was “far less than the monthly average” seen in Biden’s last full year, illustrating how timing and definitions change interpretation [8].
5. Data caveats — fiscal years, reporting lags, and statistical methods
Monthly DHS/OHSS tables are updated with a lag and are subject to cleaning; researchers stress that fiscal‑year aggregation and transition periods (e.g., October–January) can make attribution to a single president misleading [6] [3]. Some advocacy or government releases present raw agency tallies differently than independent analysts do, and secondary aggregators may extrapolate annualized rates from partial‑year data [3] [1].
6. Human and operational consequences highlighted by reporting
Beyond counts, reporting raises concerns about detention conditions, deaths in custody, and the operational strain of large removal campaigns — issues that surfaced in coverage of 2025 enforcement developments and broader detention trends [9]. Such human‑impact reporting provides context that simple removal totals omit.
7. Bottom line for readers seeking clarity
If you ask “how many illegal immigrants were deported under Biden,” sources agree removals rose and FY2024 reached record levels in several datasets, but precise attribution depends on definitions (removals vs. returns), the fiscal calendar, and whether counts include Title 42 expulsions or only formal ICE removals [1] [2] [5]. For the most authoritative drill‑down, consult DHS/OHSS monthly tables and note the methodological notes that analysts at Migration Policy Institute and others use when comparing presidencies [6] [4].
Limitations: available sources do not mention every granular breakdown (e.g., exact interior vs. border split for all FY2024 removals) and different actors (administrations, think tanks, media) interpret the same DHS statistics to support competing narratives [3] [7].