Fact check: How many people were deported during the Obama administration

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, there are conflicting figures regarding deportations during the Obama administration. The most frequently cited number indicates that the Obama administration logged more than 3.1 million ICE deportations throughout eight years in office ^[1]. This figure includes a peak year of over 407,000 people removed in fiscal year 2012 ^[1].

However, other sources report a lower figure of more than 2.4 million people deported, which was described as "nearly as many as his two predecessors combined" ^{[2] [3]}. One source mentions an estimated 400,000 deportations per year during the Obama administration ^[4], while another reports a monthly average of 36,000 deportations in 2013, which was identified as the year with the most deportations ^[5].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several important contextual elements that emerge from the analyses:

• Comparison with other administrations: The analyses reveal that Obama's deportation numbers were significant relative to previous presidents, with 2.4 million being "nearly as many as his two predecessors combined" ^[3]
• Enforcement priorities and methodology: The Obama administration prioritized threats to national security, public safety, and recent entrants in their deportation strategy ^[4], which provides crucial context about how these numbers were achieved
• Peak deportation periods: The data shows that 2012 and 2013 were peak years for deportations under Obama ^{[1] [5]}, indicating that deportation rates varied significantly throughout his presidency
• Political characterization: One source describes immigration as "Obama's most glaring failure" ^[3], while another notes that the administration "aggressively enforced current laws" ^[2], showing how different political perspectives frame these statistics

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself appears neutral and factual, simply asking for deportation numbers. However, the discrepancy between the 3.1 million and 2.4 million figures (p1_s1 vs p2_s1) suggests potential issues with:

• Different counting methodologies or definitions of "deportation" between sources
• Possible conflation of different types of removals (ICE deportations vs. total removals)
• Selective use of statistics by different political actors who might benefit from emphasizing either higher or lower numbers depending on their stance on immigration enforcement

The variation in reported figures could serve different political narratives - immigration hawks might emphasize the higher 3.1 million figure to argue for Obama's aggressive enforcement, while immigration advocates might prefer the lower 2.4 million figure to minimize the scale of deportations during his presidency.