Fact check: Are trumps detention centres worse than obamas

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, Trump's detention centers appear to be worse than Obama's in several key areas, though both administrations faced significant criticism for their immigration detention policies.

Scale and Capacity Issues:

The evidence shows that the average daily population of migrants in detention centers has risen under Trump, leading to more overcrowding and fewer resources ^[1]. Trump's administration allocated $170 billion for immigration and border enforcement funding, which represents the largest investment in detention and deportation in US history ^[2].

Conditions and Oversight:

Multiple sources indicate deteriorating conditions under Trump. At least four children died while detained under the Trump administration, and hundreds of migrant minors were held by CBP longer than the 72 hours legally allowed ^[1]. Jeh Johnson, the former Secretary of Homeland Security under Obama, described current conditions as 'terrible' and noted that the Obama administration 'tried to anticipate it and to, frankly, try our best to treat people in a fair and humane way' ^[3].

Policy Extremes:

Trump's policies appear more restrictive, with federal courts blocking Trump's proclamation aimed at completely shutting down asylum at the border, which could have put families and individuals at risk of persecution ^[4]. The Trump administration's approach includes drastic measures to increase immigration arrests and expulsions ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Historical Continuity of Problems:

The original question fails to acknowledge that detention facility problems existed under Obama, with critics arguing that conditions were unsanitary and inhumane ^[5]. The Obama administration was criticized for its family detention policies, with the ACLU arguing that detaining families was a violation of due process and human rights ^[6]. This suggests that problems with detention centers predate Trump's administration and are part of a complex issue with deep roots in US immigration policy ^[7].

Deportation Numbers Context:

Interestingly, Obama had a higher number of deportations, with over 3.1 million ICE deportations during his eight years in office, while Trump had fewer than 932,000 deportations during his first four years ^[8]. This provides important context that raw deportation numbers don't necessarily correlate with detention center conditions.

Beneficiaries of Different Narratives:

• Democratic politicians and immigration advocacy groups benefit from emphasizing Trump's policies as uniquely harmful
• Republican politicians and border security advocates benefit from portraying Obama's policies as equally problematic or highlighting his higher deportation numbers
• Private detention companies potentially benefit from increased funding and capacity under both administrations

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains an implicit assumption that may be misleading by framing the issue as a simple binary comparison. The evidence suggests that while Trump's detention centers show measurable deterioration in several areas, both administrations operated problematic detention systems ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

Key Biases:

• The question oversimplifies a complex policy issue that spans multiple administrations
• It may encourage partisan responses rather than examining systemic problems with US immigration detention
• The framing ignores the Obama administration's expansion of family detention, which was widely criticized by human rights groups ^[7]

Missing Nuance:

The question fails to distinguish between different aspects of detention (conditions, capacity, duration, legal protections) and doesn't account for external factors like increased migration numbers that contributed to the backlog ^[3].