Fact check: What percent of Obama's deportations recently crossed the border

1. Summary of the results

The analyses reveal that none of the sources provide a specific percentage of Obama's deportations that involved people who recently crossed the border. However, the sources do provide important context about Obama's deportation practices:

• Obama formally removed approximately 3.1 million noncitizens during his two terms, more than any other president in American history according to Department of Homeland Security data ^{[1] [2]}
• Between 58% and 84% of Obama's removals were 'summary removals' carried out through expedited procedures like 'expedited removal' and 'reinstatement of removal' that did not involve immigration court hearings ^[1]
• Many deportees were detained at the southwest or northern borders by Border Patrol and effectively turned around, suggesting a significant portion involved recent border crossers ^[3]
• Obama's administration implemented a two-pronged immigration enforcement strategy that increased penalties for unauthorized crossings at the southern border while also targeting immigrants with criminal records inside the US ^[4]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several crucial pieces of context that would provide a more complete picture:

• The definition of "recently crossed" is not specified in any source - this could mean days, weeks, months, or years, significantly affecting any percentage calculation
• Obama earned the reputation as 'deporter in chief' due to his high deportation numbers, but the sources indicate this was part of a deliberate enforcement strategy rather than arbitrary targeting ^[5]
• The comparison with other administrations shows that Trump's deportation numbers actually lagged behind Obama's during his first term, contradicting common political narratives about which administration was "tougher" on immigration ^{[5] [3]}
• The economic implications of mass deportations and their effects on American-born workers are discussed but not quantified in the available analyses ^[6]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question appears to assume that specific data exists about the percentage of Obama's deportations involving recent border crossers, when the analyses clearly show this information is not readily available in public sources. This could reflect:

• A misunderstanding of how deportation statistics are categorized and reported by government agencies
• Potential political framing that seeks to characterize Obama's deportations in a particular way without supporting data
• The complexity of immigration enforcement data makes simple percentage breakdowns difficult, as deportation categories overlap and involve different legal procedures ^{[1] [3]}

The question's framing may inadvertently perpetuate incomplete narratives about immigration enforcement without acknowledging the multifaceted nature of Obama's deportation strategy that targeted both border crossers and interior enforcement ^[4].