Fact check: How many people did Obama deport in his first 6 months in office?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, none of the sources contain specific data about the number of people Obama deported in his first 6 months in office. The three sources examined focus on broader immigration policy discussions and Obama's overall deportation record, but fail to provide the precise timeframe requested in the original question.

The Migration Policy Institute source ^[1] offers the most relevant information, noting that the Obama administration focused on formal removals instead of returns and prioritized the removal of criminals and recent border crossers, but does not break down deportation numbers by specific months or provide first-six-months data. The NBC News source ^[2] discusses Obama's mixed immigration legacy without providing early-presidency deportation statistics, while the third source ^[3] examines broader immigration policy challenges rather than specific deportation figures.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal significant missing context that would be crucial for a complete answer:

• No baseline comparison data - The sources don't provide deportation numbers from previous administrations' first six months for context ^{[2] [3] [1]}
• Methodological changes - The Migration Policy Institute analysis indicates that the Obama administration changed how deportations were categorized and counted, focusing on "formal removals" rather than "returns," which could affect numerical comparisons ^[1]
• Policy prioritization context - While one source mentions the administration prioritized removing criminals and recent border crossers ^[1], there's no discussion of how this affected overall deportation numbers in the initial months
• Political and operational constraints - The sources don't address potential administrative delays or policy implementation challenges that might have affected early deportation numbers

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself doesn't contain misinformation, but it lacks important contextual framing that could lead to misleading interpretations:

• The question assumes that first-six-months deportation data is readily available and meaningful without acknowledging that new administrations often face implementation delays and policy transitions that make early-period statistics less representative
• No acknowledgment of definitional complexities - The question doesn't specify whether it's asking about "removals," "returns," or total deportations, which became a significant distinction during the Obama era according to the policy analysis ^[1]
• The framing could potentially be used to make incomplete political comparisons without proper context about policy changes, administrative capacity, or inherited immigration enforcement infrastructure

The question appears straightforward but requires more nuanced data sources that specifically track monthly deportation statistics from Obama's early presidency to be answered accurately.