Number of deportations under Biden
Executive summary
The short answer is: there is no single undisputed “number of deportations under Biden” because agencies and reporters use different definitions and timeframes—official counts range from roughly 1.1 million formal removals through February 2024 to multi‑million counts of removals/returns when expulsions and voluntary returns are included (for example, a 4.6 million figure through November 2024 reported in some outlets) [1] [2]. The most defensible, widely cited benchmarks are 1.1 million removals/returns from FY2021 through February 2024 (Migration Policy analysis of DHS data) and about 685,000 total removals in FY2024 alone (Stateline summary of DHS reporting), but interpretation depends on which categories—formal removals, administrative returns, or Title 42 expulsions—are being tallied [1] [3].
1. Why the arithmetic looks so different: removals, returns, expulsions and timeframes
Counting “deportations” collapses distinct DHS categories: formal removals (deportations ordered through immigration courts), administrative returns or voluntary returns, and Title 42 expulsions or other expulsions at or near the border; different outlets aggregate these differently, and some include quick expulsions that are not formal removal orders, which inflates totals relative to strictly judicial removals [1] [4]. Migration Policy’s headline metric—about 1.1 million deportations from the start of FY2021 through February 2024—derives from DHS enforcement tables and emphasizes removals and returns on a fiscal‑year basis [1], whereas Newsweek and other media citing government tallies reported “over 4.6 million removed” between January 2021 and November 2024 by counting a broader set of returns and expulsions [2].
2. Benchmarks from reputable reporting and DHS sources
A careful migration‑policy review of DHS monthly and yearbook data put the count at roughly 1.1 million deportations from FY2021 through February 2024 and noted that administrative returns alone exceeded 505,000 in that span—showing how a large share of movements are non‑court returns [1]. DHS and ICE databases referenced by journalists show that FY2024 was especially high: one summary put total removals in FY2024 at about 685,000, a single‑year peak that helps explain why cumulative multi‑year tallies rose sharply [3]. ICE’s own enforcement and removal operations pages document categories and note changes such as the end of COVID emergency authorities that affect how expulsions were carried out [4].
3. Disputes, partisan frames and methodological critiques
Advocacy and opinion outlets push divergent narratives: conservative analysts emphasize declines in removals of criminal aliens under Biden and challenge claims that Biden “deported more than Trump” in like‑for‑like terms (CIS critique) [5] [6], while some foreign press and roundup pieces highlight very large aggregate figures [7] [2]. The dispute often hinges on whether comparisons use identical categories and identical time spans; critics note that higher counts under Biden mainly reflect surges in border expulsions/returns and diplomatic arrangements to take back nationals, not necessarily a blanket rise in court‑ordered deportations [1] [8].
4. What can be stated with confidence and what remains uncertain
It can be stated with confidence that: Migration Policy’s analysis of DHS data counts about 1.1 million deportations from FY2021 through February 2024 and that administrative returns during that period exceed roughly 505,000 [1]; FY2024 was an unusually large year with reporting that put total removals near 685,000 [3]. It remains uncertain—and depends on definition—whether the Biden administration oversaw “4+ million” removals when including all expulsions and voluntary returns for the entire 2021–2024 span, because different outlets and datasets aggregate different event types and time windows [2] [1]. Public DHS/ICE tables support the broad pattern but not a single, uncontested cumulative “deportation” figure without specifying which categories are counted [4].
5. Bottom line for readers seeking a single figure
If “deportations” is interpreted narrowly as formal removals recorded in DHS enforcement tables, a defensible, frequently cited benchmark is roughly 1.1 million removals/returns from the start of FY2021 through February 2024 [1]; if the term is broadened to include expulsions, administrative returns and other rapid repatriations, several outlets citing DHS aggregates report totals in the multiple millions for 2021–2024 (for example, ~4.6 million to November 2024), but that broader figure rests on a different counting method and time period [2]. Reporters and researchers must therefore state definitions and dates when citing any headline number [1] [2].