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Fact check: What were the total deportation numbers under Trump's presidency compared to previous administrations?
Checked on June 12, 2025
1. Summary of the results
The deportation numbers during Trump's presidency were significantly lower than both Obama and Biden administrations. Specifically:
- Trump's administration saw approximately 2.1 million removals during his term [1]
- Obama oversaw 5.3 million removals across his two terms, with 2009 being the peak year at 973,937 deportations [1]
- Biden's administration removed about 4.6 million people between January 2021 and November 2024 [1]
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual factors need to be considered:
- Trump's deportation numbers included two distinct categories: 1.2 million through removal orders and 805,770 through self-deportation or border turnbacks [2]
- The administration employed specific tactics to increase deportation numbers, including:
- Offering $1,000 incentives for self-deportation
- Expanding detention facilities
- Increasing ICE arrests in workplaces, courthouses, and homes [3]
- Interior enforcement more than doubled under Trump, with ICE detention numbers increasing by 25% [3]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The question itself might lead to oversimplified comparisons without considering:
- Monthly variations: While Trump's administration saw 17,200 deportations in April (a 50% increase from February), this was still less than half of Obama's 2013 record of 430,000 deportations in a single year [4]
- Implementation methods: Trump's administration used more aggressive enforcement tactics [3], while achieving lower overall numbers
- Administrative goals: Despite more aggressive targets, the Trump administration fell behind their intended deportation goals, reaching only 139,000 migrants by April, later increasing to 207,000 [3]
These numbers and contexts are particularly relevant to various stakeholders:
- Immigration enforcement agencies benefit from highlighting increased interior enforcement
- Political parties can use these statistics differently to support their immigration policies
- Immigration advocacy groups can use the same data to either criticize or support different administrative approaches
Want to dive deeper?
How do Obama's deportation numbers compare to Trump's presidency?
What were the deportation policies and enforcement changes under Trump administration?
How did Biden's first term deportation numbers compare to Trump's?
What role did ICE play in deportation increases or decreases under different presidents?
How do deportation statistics vary between voluntary returns and formal removals across administrations?