Fact check: How many deportations occurred during Trump's presidency compared to Biden's?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, the deportation comparison between Trump's and Biden's presidencies reveals a complex picture that challenges common assumptions:

Biden's Record Matches or Exceeds Trump's:

• The Biden administration is on track to match the 1.5 million deportations carried out during the Trump administration, with 1.1 million deportations from FY 2021 through February 2024 ^[1]
• Biden's administration has carried out the most administrative returns in at least 15 years, with over 505,000 from FY 2021 through February 2024 ^[1]
• US immigration authorities deported more than 271,000 immigrants in the last fiscal year under Biden, surpassing Trump's 2019 record ^[2]

Daily Deportation Rates Favor Biden:

• Trump's current daily removals average 661 from January 26 to March 8, which is 10.9% lower than Biden's daily average of 742 in FY 2024 ^[3]
• Trump deported 37,660 people during his first month in office, which is far less than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns in Biden's last full year ^[4]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several crucial contextual factors that significantly impact the deportation comparison:

Operational Constraints:

• ICE detention space limits deportation capacity, with the agency currently holding around 41,100 detainees, creating a bottleneck regardless of administration policy ^[3]
• The difference between various types of removals (administrative returns vs. enforcement returns) affects total numbers but isn't captured in simple deportation statistics

Policy Changes and Future Projections:

• The Trump administration is expanding the pool of undocumented immigrants by terminating programs like the CHNV parole program and seeking to revoke Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands ^[5]
• Trump has ordered ICE to expand detention and deportation of migrants and is making it easier to arrest deportable migrants without criminal records ^{[4] [6]}

Political and Economic Interests:

• Immigration enforcement agencies and private detention companies benefit financially from increased deportation operations regardless of which administration implements them
• Politicians from both parties can benefit from appearing tough on immigration enforcement, though they may emphasize different aspects of the data

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question, while factually neutral, implicitly assumes Trump had higher deportation numbers than Biden, which the data contradicts. This assumption reflects common political narratives that may not align with actual enforcement statistics.

The question also oversimplifies a complex issue by focusing solely on raw numbers without considering:

• Different types of removals and returns
• Operational constraints affecting both administrations
• Policy changes that affect the pool of deportable individuals
• The distinction between campaign promises and actual implementation

The framing suggests a binary comparison when the reality shows Biden's administration has actually exceeded Trump's deportation rates in many metrics ^{[3] [4] [2]}, challenging conventional political narratives about which party is "tougher" on immigration enforcement.