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What were the total US deportations in 2024?
Executive summary
U.S. deportations in fiscal year (FY) 2024 were reported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at roughly 271,000 — specifically 271,484 removals to 192 countries for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2024 (ICE/agency reporting summarized by Reuters and Axios) [1] [2]. Other datasets and definitions produce larger tallies (e.g., “repatriations” or returns/expulsions counted by DHS/US Border Patrol), which some outlets put at several hundred thousand more depending on methodology [3] [4].
1. What the headline number means: ICE’s FY2024 removals and scope
The most-cited headline figure for 2024 comes from ICE’s annual Enforcement and Removal Operations report showing about 271,484 people deported to 192 countries between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024 — described as the highest ICE removals total in nearly a decade [1] [2]. That ICE figure covers removals carried out by the agency (people with final orders of removal, expedited removals under Title 8, and other ICE-coordinated flights and returns) and is the source used by multiple outlets reporting a 90% increase from 2023 levels [1] [2].
2. Why other tallies can be much bigger: “repatriations,” expulsions and different agencies
DHS and Border Patrol measure related but not identical actions — for example, repatriations, expulsions under public-health rules, and returns processed at the border. USAFacts notes broader “repatriation” figures that include expulsions and return operations, estimating about 678,000 repatriations for 2024 as of November based on those wider categories [3]. Migration Policy and other analysts also emphasize that counting expedited removals, returns at the border, and parole decisions can push cumulative tallies much higher [4].
3. Method matters: fiscal year windows and definitions change comparisons
Media reports focus on ICE’s FY2024 window (Oct. 1, 2023–Sept. 30, 2024) for the 271,484 number, which differs from calendar-year or DHS “yearbook” conventions [1] [5]. Some analyses aggregate removals across multiple agencies or include Title 42-era expulsions and OFO paroles, producing substantially different totals; Migration Policy highlighted 1.1 million removals from FY2021 through early 2024 when counting returns under broader categories [4].
4. Criminal vs. non-criminal removals and enforcement priorities
ICE’s reporting and news summaries note that a sizable share of FY2024 removals were non-criminal — reporting indicates about one-third [6] [7] of the ICE deportees faced criminal charges or convictions, while the remainder were largely immigration violations [1]. Coverage emphasizes that increases in removals were driven in part by operational changes (more flights, streamlined travel procedures) and shifting enforcement priorities [8] [2].
5. Conflicting estimates in secondary analyses and think-tank claims
Some policy groups and researchers offer higher or different estimates. For instance, a working analysis referenced by the Economic Policy Institute cited around 330,000 removals in FY2024 — higher than ICE’s headline — likely reflecting alternative data selections or projections [9]. These discrepancies underscore that data source choice (ICE vs. DHS-wide vs. public-health expulsions) substantially affects the reported total [9] [3].
6. What reporters explicitly say and what’s not in the records
Reporting from Reuters, Axios and The Guardian all derive the “about 271,000” figure from ICE’s FY2024 enforcement report and frame it as the highest ICE deportation total in a decade [1] [2] [8]. Available sources do not mention a single universally agreed “total U.S. deportations in 2024” that reconciles ICE removals, Border Patrol returns, public-health expulsions, and other repatriation categories into one figure; instead, different agencies and analysts publish varying counts depending on methodology [3] [4].
7. Bottom line and how to read future claims
If you mean ICE removals for FY2024 (Oct. 2023–Sept. 2024), cite ~271,484 removals [1] [2]. If you mean all returns/repatriations and expulsions across DHS components and policy categories, expect much higher totals — several hundred thousand to over 600,000 depending on which categories are included [3] [4]. For rigorous comparisons, check whether a source uses ICE ERO removals, DHS Yearbook tables, Border Patrol “encounters/returns,” or broader “repatriation” metrics before accepting a single headline number [5] [3].