Fact check: Did obama primarily deport crimials

1. Summary of the results

The evidence strongly supports that Obama's administration did primarily deport criminals during the later years of his presidency. Multiple sources confirm this pattern with specific data:

• 90% of interior removals in 2016 were noncitizens convicted of serious crimes ^[1]
• 91% of people removed from inside the U.S. in 2015 were previously convicted of a crime ^[2]
• The administration's deportation priorities explicitly focused on national security threats, immigrants convicted of serious crimes, and recent border crossers ^[3]

The Obama administration framed increased enforcement as a means to achieve broader immigration reform ^[4], and focused on recent unauthorized border crossers and those who had committed crimes ^[5]. This represents a strategic shift toward prioritizing criminal deportations rather than mass deportations of all undocumented immigrants.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question omits several crucial contextual factors that complicate the narrative:

• Obama deported more than 2.8 million undocumented immigrants total ^[6], earning him the nickname "Deporter in Chief" from immigration advocates
• His administration deported nearly as many people as his two predecessors combined ^[7]
• While prioritizing criminals, Obama simultaneously expanded DACA and introduced new protections for parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents ^[8]

Immigration advocacy groups would benefit from emphasizing the total deportation numbers to criticize Obama's legacy, while Obama supporters and Democratic politicians would benefit from highlighting the focus on criminal deportations to defend his record. Republican politicians might benefit from either narrative depending on whether they want to criticize Obama for being too harsh or too lenient on immigration.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question, while factually supported by the data, presents an incomplete picture that could mislead by omission:

• It focuses only on the "primarily criminals" aspect without acknowledging the massive scale of total deportations ^{[6] [7]}
• It doesn't mention that this criminal-focused approach was a strategic shift that occurred during Obama's presidency, not necessarily the policy from the beginning
• The framing could be used to sanitize Obama's overall deportation record by making it appear more targeted and humane than the raw numbers suggest

The question appears neutral but could serve to defend Obama's immigration legacy by emphasizing the criminal focus while downplaying the broader impact on immigrant communities.