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Fact check: What is the total number of deportations conducted by ICE in 2024?
Executive Summary
The most consistent, contemporaneous reporting shows that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out roughly 270,000–271,500 removals in fiscal year 2024, marking the highest annual total since 2014 and eclipsing prior peaks during the Trump administration [1] [2] [3]. Quarterly ICE enforcement data also show a sharp rise in removals — a 69% increase in Q3 FY2024 with nearly 68,000 noncitizens removed — but the agency’s quarterly statistics do not themselves sum to the annual total and exclude some border return categories handled by other agencies [4].
1. Why the headline number converges around 270,000 and what the specific figures are
Multiple independent outlets reported a near-identical headline figure for ICE removals in fiscal 2024: about 271,000 removals, with some reporting a precise count of 271,484. CBS News, Reuters and the Associated Press outlets framed the annual total as the highest in a decade [1] [2] [3]. These outlets cite ICE operational tallies for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024; the small numeric variation among reports reflects rounding in summaries versus a specific ICE-reported count [1] [3]. The consistent reporting across outlets indicates a strong factual consensus on the magnitude of removals.
2. Quarterly data show the pace, not the whole story
ICE’s published quarterly Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) reports indicate sharp increases within FY2024 — notably a nearly 70% rise in Q3 compared with the prior year and almost 68,000 individual noncitizen removals for that quarter alone [4]. These quarterly snapshots are valuable for tracking momentum and operational emphasis, but they do not by themselves explain the full-year total because removals are tallied across four quarters and can be reported with timing differences. Quarterly spikes contributed materially to the final annual count, but the annual figure remains the clearest single metric for year-over-year comparison [4].
3. Geography and operational detail: who and where were people removed to
Reporting indicates ICE removals in FY2024 reached people sent to 192 countries, a breadth similar to prior years and reflecting international repatriation efforts and expanded travel logistics [2]. Media accounts attribute the higher volume to increased deportation flights and streamlined travel procedures, suggesting operational changes that improved removal capacity and reduced logistical bottlenecks [1] [3]. The country count and flight logistics explain part of how ICE achieved higher throughput, even as removals involved many migrants initially encountered by border authorities [1] [2].
4. Scope limitations: what the ICE numbers include — and exclude
ICE removals and ERO statistics reflect removals conducted by ICE, but they do not capture all returns managed by other agencies, particularly U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expedited returns or Title 42-era processes that were used earlier [4]. Several reports note that ICE data exclude certain categories of border returns and that year-to-year comparisons should account for those institutional boundaries. This distinction matters for interpreting the total effect of federal immigration enforcement in 2024: the ICE figure is a clear indicator of ICE activity but not a comprehensive tally of all U.S. government-initiated departures or returns [4].
5. Context and historical comparison: why reporters emphasize a “decade high”
Journalists place FY2024 removals in historical context by comparing them to the previous decade’s peaks — reporters note the FY2024 total surpassed the Trump-era high near 267,000 removals in 2019 and represented the largest ICE total since 2014 [1] [2]. The “decade high” framing is fact-based, rooted in ICE’s fiscal-year reporting, and is used to signal both a quantitative milestone and a shift in enforcement intensity relative to recent administrations. The numerical comparison is consistent across outlets and reflects the agency’s own fiscal-year accounting [1] [2].
6. Variations in phrasing and potential framing motives in coverage
Different outlets used language like “over 271,000,” “more than 270,000,” and the precise 271,484 figure, which can affect reader perception even though the underlying data align [1] [3]. Some coverage links the rise to policy choices by the outgoing administration and operational changes to deportation logistics, which is a legitimate explanatory frame but also serves political narratives about enforcement priorities [2]. Readers should note that the numeric consensus exists, while interpretations about causes and policy judgments reflect editorial emphasis rather than discrepancies in the underlying count [2] [3].
7. Bottom line and how to read future updates
For fiscal year 2024, ICE’s removals total is reliably reported at about 270,000–271,484, with multiple independent outlets publishing aligned figures in December 2024 [1] [2] [3]. Analysts should monitor ICE’s official ERO publications for precise tabulations and quarterly breakdowns, while remembering that ICE counts exclude some CBP-managed returns, so broader assessments of total government-assisted departures require combining datasets from multiple agencies [4]. The convergence of reporting across reputable outlets makes the headline annual total a defensible factual baseline for further policy discussion [1] [3].