How many illegal immigrants have we deported

1. What the government is claiming: DHS removal totals

The Department of Homeland Security has publicly announced that more than 527,000 people were removed from the U.S. through DHS operations by late 2025 and at times has framed a larger number — “more than 605,000” deportations — in its publicity about enforcement through the year ^{[1] [3]}. DHS also reported that over 1.6–1.9 million people voluntarily left (self‑deported) during the same period, a distinction the agency stresses between compelled removals and voluntary departures ^{[3] [1]}.

2. What independent press analyses find: interior plus border removals

A New York Times analysis of federal data found roughly 230,000 deportations of people arrested in the interior and about 270,000 deportations of people at the border over the administration’s first year — a combined total near 500,000 for Jan. 20, 2025–Jan. 20, 2026 — and rounds those figures to present a clear media estimate based on component datasets ^[2]. That figure aligns with DHS’s lower-end public totals but differs from DHS’s higher public claims when DHS aggregates self‑deportations and other exits ^{[1] [3]}.

3. Why reported totals diverge: definitions, components, and timing

Discrepancies stem from differences in definitions (removals vs. returns vs. voluntary self‑deportations), which agencies and analysts include different enforcement streams (ICE removals, CBP rapid expulsions, denied entries) and from timing and rounding conventions; Brookings and other analysts note that some removal measures may be nearly double ICE’s internal detention statistics because they include rapid border removals or other enforcement actions not handled by ICE ^[4]. Official monthly tables exist (OHSS/DHS) and ICE posts ERO statistics, but how those data are aggregated for public claims varies substantially ^{[5] [6]}.

4. The broader picture: voluntary departures and estimated behavioral responses

Beyond formal deportations, think tanks estimate large voluntary outflows tied to enforcement pressure: Brookings estimates 210,000–405,000 additional voluntary departures in 2025 above what would have occurred absent increased enforcement and projects voluntary departures could reach 575,000 in 2026 if removals continue to rise ^[4]. DHS’s messaging frequently mixes removals and voluntary departures when touting “more than 2 million left,” which inflates the appearance of formal removals if readers conflate the categories ^{[3] [1]}.

5. Political context and incentives shaping the numbers

Both the administration and its critics have incentives to present the statistics in ways that support their narratives: DHS press releases emphasize headline totals that combine removals and self‑deportations to underscore policy success ^{[3] [1]}, while independent outlets like The New York Times parse component datasets to provide narrower counts of formal removals ^[2]. Academic and policy shops such as Brookings emphasize methodological caveats and behavioral responses to enforcement that can shift net migration independent of formal deportations ^[4].

6. Bottom line — how many illegal immigrants have we deported?

For the administration’s first year, the best-supported range for formal deportations (removals) is roughly 500,000–605,000: independent federal‑data analysis centers around ~500,000 (NYT’s ~230,000 interior + ~270,000 border) while DHS public tallies report more than 527,000 removals and at times cite a cumulative “deported” figure above 600,000 when aggregating other enforcement outputs and timing ^{[2] [1] [3]}. Any conversation about “how many” must clearly separate formal removals from the much larger category of voluntary departures and from related enforcement actions that some agencies include in headline counts ^{[4] [5]}.