How many illegal immigrants deported under Biden's administration
Executive summary
Across multiple official and research sources, the number of people removed, returned, expelled or otherwise leaving the United States during the Biden presidency is reported in different ways: a Migration Policy Institute analysis counts roughly 775,000 unauthorized migrants removed or returned in the 12 months after Title 42 ended (May 2023–March 2024) [1], U.S. government tallies record about 271,000–272,000 formal removals in fiscal year 2024 [2] [3], and later DHS communications and press summaries reference more than 527,000 formal deportations alongside roughly 1.6 million voluntary self-deportations for a combined outflow figure exceeding 2 million [4] [5], but inconsistencies in definitions and reporting mean no single headline number tells the whole story.
1. What "deported" actually means — definitions that split the totals
Reporting and agency releases use several overlapping categories — "removals" (formal deportations), "returns" and "expulsions" (often rapid returns at the border under Title 42 or Title 8 procedures), and voluntary departures or self-deports — and analysts warn these categories are not equivalent, which complicates a simple count of "deportations" [1]; Migration Policy explicitly aggregates removals and returns to report 775,000 unauthorized migrants processed under Title 8 in the 12 months after Title 42 ended [1], while DHS and other outlets distinguish formal removals from expulsions and voluntary departures [4] [6].
2. What the key datasets say — fiscal year snapshots and post‑Title 42 surge
In FY2024, U.S. government figures commonly cited put formal removals in the roughly 271,000–272,000 range, with the majority of those removed having been apprehended at the border rather than in the interior — roughly 82% of the 271,000 deported in FY2024 were border arrests, according to BBC coverage of DHS data [2]. Migration Policy documents a sharp post‑Title 42 ramp-up of removals and returns, estimating 775,000 processed in the 12 months after Title 42 ended (May 2023–March 2024) and noting a record number of expedited removals during that window [1].
3. Broader tallies: voluntary departures and DHS summaries
DHS communications and some later media fact checks present larger outflow figures when voluntary self‑deportations and programmatic departures are included — for example, DHS materials and a Newsweek fact check cite "more than 2 million" undocumented migrants who have left the U.S., composed of about 1.6 million voluntary self‑deportations plus more than 527,000 formal removals in the period referenced [4] [5]. Those combined counts reflect different kinds of exits and are sometimes used in political messaging, so analysts and watchdogs emphasize examining the components rather than relying on a single aggregate [4].
4. Why numbers diverge and where uncertainty remains
Divergences stem from timing windows, which agencies or analysts are counted (ICE vs. CBP vs. DHS totals), whether expulsions under public‑health authorities like Title 42 are included, and whether voluntary departures are treated as "deportations" — Migration Policy and Brookings both highlight shifts in enforcement focus (border versus interior) and modeling assumptions that influence annualized totals [1] immigration-flows-in-2025-and-2026-january-2026-update/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[7]. Independent trackers and watchdogs also note gaps when the federal government changes its data releases or uses different reporting cutoffs, which has complicated year‑to‑year comparisons [8] [3].
5. Bottom line for the question asked
If the question is strictly "how many illegal immigrants were deported under Biden," the most defensible differentials are: about 271,000–272,000 formal removals in FY2024 [2] [3]; an MPI estimate of 775,000 removals or returns in the 12 months after Title 42 ended (May 2023–March 2024) when rapid‑processing expulsions are included [1]; and a broader DHS framing that, when voluntary departures are added, reports over 2 million departures including roughly 527,000 formal deportations in the period cited by DHS [4] [5]. Which number answers the user depends on whether one accepts only formal removals, includes expulsions/returns at the border, or also counts voluntary self‑deportations — the sources make clear these are different measures and each has been invoked in public debate [1] [4] [2].