Fact check: How many legal immigrants were deported in 2023?

1. Summary of the results

The available data does not provide a clear answer to the specific question about legal immigrants deported in 2023. According to ICE's official Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report, 142,580 removals were conducted to more than 170 countries worldwide ^[1]. However, this figure includes both individuals with no legal basis to remain in the country and those expelled under Title 42, making it impossible to distinguish how many were specifically legal immigrants.

The monthly deportation data from NBC News shows 11,000 migrants deported in February, over 12,300 in the first four weeks of March, and approximately 17,200 in April, but these numbers don't provide a comprehensive annual picture and don't specify the legal status of those deported ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question assumes that legal immigrants are being deported, but the analyses reveal several critical pieces of missing context:

• Legal status distinctions are not clearly tracked or reported in deportation statistics. The ICE data combines various categories of removals without breaking down legal versus illegal status ^[1].
• Current detention patterns show a shift in enforcement priorities. At least 56,000 immigrants are being held in ICE detention, with about half having no criminal convictions, and there's been a focus on arresting people without criminal records ^[3].
• The Trump administration has set ambitious deportation goals, aiming to deport 1 million people annually, though this goal may not be achievable according to migration policy experts ^[4].
• Funding and policy changes are driving increased enforcement. The Trump administration's tax cut and policy bill aims to "supercharge" immigration enforcement with significant resource allocation ^[5].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains an implicit assumption that may be misleading:

• The question presupposes that legal immigrants are being deported in significant numbers without establishing whether this is actually occurring. The available data doesn't support making this distinction clearly.
• The framing could be politically motivated to either criticize or defend immigration enforcement policies. Immigration advocacy groups would benefit from highlighting deportations of legal immigrants to build opposition to enforcement policies, while enforcement agencies and their supporters would benefit from emphasizing that deportations primarily target those without legal status.
• The lack of clear data on this specific metric suggests that either the distinction isn't being tracked systematically, or the information isn't being made publicly available, which could serve the interests of those who prefer less transparency in immigration enforcement statistics.