How many people did the Trump administration deport annually and what were their criminal conviction rates?
Executive summary
The available records and reporting show that the second Trump administration oversaw roughly half a million to more than 600,000 removals in its first year, depending on which government statement or independent count is used (DHS: ~605,000–675,000; New York Times: ≈500,000) [1] [2] [3]. The share of those deported with criminal convictions is sharply disputed: the administration’s public statements frame most arrests as “criminal,” while independent analyses and leaked ICE datasets indicate a majority of people arrested or detained had no criminal convictions and that violent convictions were a small minority (range: roughly 25–30% with convictions by DHS claims vs 26–74% with no convictions in independent reporting; violent convictions typically reported in the single digits to low teens) [1] [4] [5] [6] [7].
1. How many people were deported — the competing totals and what they mean
Department of Homeland Security public releases have repeatedly touted historic removal tallies—statements cite totals such as “more than 605,000” or pushing toward “nearly 600,000” deportations in the administration’s first year and later updates claiming 675,000+ removals and millions of departures when including self‑deportations and expulsions (DHS figures) [1] [8] [2] [9]. Independent press analysis using federal data arrives at a lower but still large total: The New York Times reported about 230,000 interior deportations plus about 270,000 at the border — roughly 500,000 removals in the year reviewed [3]. Research groups that parse ICE book‑ins and FOIA datasets emphasize that interior deportations rose sharply compared with the prior administration, but caution that different counting methods (interior removals vs border removals vs self‑deportations/expulsions) produce divergent totals [10] [11].
2. What share had criminal convictions — official framing versus independent analyses
The administration and DHS repeatedly characterize most enforcement as focused on “criminal illegal aliens,” with public messaging claiming roughly 70–75% of ICE arrests involved people with convictions or pending charges [4] [1]. Independent or private datasets paint a different picture: analyses and leaked ICE data reported by the Cato Institute and other researchers indicate that a majority of those detained or deported had no criminal convictions — Cato summarized that about 70–73% had no convictions and that only a small fraction had violent convictions, while noting the administration often counts pending charges as “criminal” for its tallies [5] [7]. PolitiFact/seat reporting and TRAC analysis likewise found that in ICE detention large shares — roughly 70–74% in some snapshots — had no convictions [6] [12].
3. The violent‑crime slice: small but highlighted
Across sources the proportion of deportees with violent convictions is low relative to overall removals: independent counts place violent convictions in the single digits to low teens of convicted cases (for example, reports cite 5% or under for violent convictions among detainees in some datasets and other analyses reported violent‑conviction shares dropping from about 10% to 7% when comparing administrations) [5] [7]. The administration’s public materials, however, amplify examples of violent cases and “worst‑of‑the‑worst” operations to bolster the narrative that removals principally target violent criminals [1] [13].
4. Why the numbers diverge — data definitions, interiors vs border, convictions vs charges
Disagreement stems from definitional choices and opaque or incomplete public releases: DHS mixes removals, expulsions, and self‑deportations in some tallies; the administration often aggregates convictions and pending charges; independent researchers separate interior ICE removals from border expulsions and distinguish convictions from arrests or charges [1] [3] [5] [10]. That leads to consistent patterns across reporting: the administration’s raw counts are higher when including border actions and self‑departures and when treating pending charges as “criminal,” while FOIA‑based and academic analyses emphasize that the interior enforcement surge captured many people with no criminal convictions [3] [10] [5].
5. Bottom line assessment
Reasonable synthesis of the sources: annual removals under the second Trump administration fall broadly between roughly 500,000 (independent press estimate of interior + border removals) and 600,000–675,000 (DHS self‑reported totals that may include expulsions and self‑deportations) [3] [1] [2]. Criminal‑conviction rates vary with data choices: administration claims put convicted or charged people at roughly 70–75% of arrests, while independent datasets and leaked ICE figures indicate the opposite majority — roughly 65–74% with no criminal convictions and violent convictions constituting a small single‑digit to low‑teen share [4] [5] [6] [7]. The divergence is not merely rhetorical; it reflects different counting rules and a lack of fully transparent, disaggregated federal data publicized in a consistent format [10] [5].