Fact check: Biden has deported more illegal immigrants than trump

1. Summary of the results

The statement about Biden's deportation numbers compared to Trump's is generally accurate, but requires important context. Recent data shows that Biden's administration conducted 271,000 deportations in fiscal year 2024, which surpasses Trump's peak year of 267,000 in 2019 ^[1]. The total repatriations under Biden have reached approximately 4.7 million, which is indeed higher than both Trump and Obama's presidencies ^[2]. Through October 2024, 2.8 million migrants were removed directly from CBP custody, with total DHS repatriations reaching 3.7 million ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial contextual factors need to be considered:

• Title 42 Impact: A significant portion of Biden's numbers includes Title 42 pandemic-era expulsions, making direct comparisons with previous administrations problematic ^[2]
• Criminal History: Approximately 32% of those deported had criminal histories ^[4]
• Border vs. Interior: 82% of deportations were from border apprehensions, not interior enforcement ^[5]
• Efficiency Metrics: Under Biden, 51% of arrested border crossers were removed, compared to 47% under Trump in similar time frames ^[3]
• Diplomatic Efforts: The increase in deportations is partly attributed to improved diplomatic efforts and streamlined processes ^[5]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement oversimplifies a complex situation in several ways:

• It fails to distinguish between traditional deportations and Title 42 expulsions, which significantly affects the numbers ^[2]
• It doesn't acknowledge that deportation numbers were initially low in 2021 but increased significantly in subsequent years ^[1]
• The statement could be used to either criticize or praise Biden's administration, depending on one's political stance:
• Immigration advocates might use these numbers to criticize Biden's strict enforcement
• Immigration restrictionists might use them to show effective border management
• The numbers should be viewed with caution, as sources explicitly warn against oversimplifying these statistics ^[6]