How many illegals did Biden and OBama deport?
Executive summary
The short answer: there is no single undisputed number because “deportations” is used interchangeably with “removals,” “returns,” “expulsions,” and Title 42-era actions; depending on which measures are counted, Barack Obama oversaw roughly 3.1 million formal removals (and about 5.2 million total repatriations if voluntary returns and other returns are included) during 2009–2016, while Joe Biden’s administration has overseen several million repatriations/expulsions and removals—estimates range from roughly 4.4–4.7 million total repatriations through 2024 and government reporting shows millions of removals and returns combined during 2021–2024 [1] [2] [3].
1. How official agencies count “deportations” and why that matters
Federal immigration statistics are fragmented across categories—“removals” are formal orders of removal, “returns” can be voluntary departures acknowledged by migrants, and “expulsions” (including Title 42 public‑health expulsions) often do not produce a formal removal order—and many media tallies mix those categories, producing very different totals depending on inclusion criteria [3] [1].
2. The Obama-era totals that reporters usually cite
Multiple authoritative compilations and journalists commonly cite roughly 3.1 million formal removals during Barack Obama’s two terms (2009–2016), and a larger figure—about 5.24 million—when voluntary returns and other repatriations at the border are included; that larger figure is the basis for the persistent “Obama deported 3–5 million” framing found in retrospective analyses [1] [4].
3. The Biden-era totals and the role of returns/Title 42
Under Joe Biden, DHS and subsequent press analyses record a spike in returns/expulsions plus removals: independent reporting and government summaries put total repatriations and removals during 2021–2024 in the multiple‑millions range—Newsweek cites “over 4.6 million” removals between January 2021 and November 2024 and other outlets place total Biden‑era repatriations around 4.4–4.7 million—yet these totals crucially reflect a heavy share of returns and Title 42‑era or public‑health expulsions rather than only formal removal orders [2] [1] [5].
4. Why apples‑to‑apples comparisons are elusive
Comparisons across presidencies are misleading unless one matches definitions and data sources: prior administrations and reporting practices changed what DHS and Border Patrol counted as removals versus returns (for example, earlier years counted many voluntary returns that later reporting distinguished), and the pandemic’s Title 42 expulsions created a large, temporary pathway for rapid repatriations that inflates “deportation” totals if included [3] [4] [2].
5. What independent fact‑checks and analysts emphasize
Fact‑checking organizations and migration analysts stress that annual averages, monthly spikes, and policy context matter more than a single aggregate; one analysis covering multiple administrations finds about 863,958 deportations for a specified multi‑year slice and highlights the challenge of assembling a consistent long‑run series because DHS reporting is split across multiple programs and years [6] [3].
6. Hidden agendas and how that skews the headline numbers
Political actors frequently cite the highest possible tally (combining removals, returns, expulsions) to argue either that an administration was lax or ruthless; outlets sympathetic to enforcement emphasize formal removals, while critics point to humane‑oriented metrics (like enforcement priorities) to contextualize why numbers rose or fell—readers should therefore check whether a cited “deportation” total includes returns and Title 42 expulsions or only formal removal orders [7] [3] [1].
7. Bottom line for the question asked
If the question seeks a simple count of formal removals: Obama’s administration oversaw roughly 3.1 million formal removals (2009–2016) as commonly reported; if the question intends to include all repatriations, returns and expulsions, Obama’s repatriations exceed five million while Biden’s combined removals/returns/expulsions through 2024 are reported in the range of roughly 4.4–4.7 million, with government summaries and news analyses noting several million removals and returns during 2021–2024—any precise claim must state which categories are included [1] [2] [3].