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Which president deported the most amount of people?
Executive summary
Counting “most deported” depends on which measure you use: formal DHS “removals” (orders executed), border “returns/expulsions” (including Title 42) or the combined total of removals plus returns. Available reporting shows Bill Clinton oversaw the largest combined expulsions (about 12.3 million when returns are included) [1], Barack Obama oversaw roughly 2–3 million formal removals during his presidency [2] [3], and recent administrations (Biden and Trump) have carried out large numbers of expulsions/returns that complicate simple comparisons [4] [5] [6].
1. What “deported” can mean — three different measures that change the answer
Journalists and researchers use at least three distinct counts: formal removals (DHS/ICE removals after an order), voluntary returns or border expulsions (often carried out without court proceedings), and a combined figure of removals plus returns. The Migration Policy Institute and reporting note that recent administrations have relied heavily on “returns” at the border, which are counted differently than formal removals and can swell totals when combined [4]. The El Paso Matters brief explicitly reports a combined removals-and-returns total for Clinton that is far larger than formal-removal counts alone [1]. Any answer must specify which measure is intended.
2. The headline numbers: Clinton, Obama, Trump and Biden — who shows up where
El Paso Matters reports that when combining removals and returns, President Bill Clinton “expelled about 12.3 million people,” the largest total in their brief [1]. For formal removals, multiple sources identify Barack Obama as having overseen roughly 2 million removals during his tenure and about 438,421 removals in FY2013 — leading some advocates to nickname him “deporter‑in‑chief” [2] [3]. Other analyses place Obama’s formal removals “more than three million noncitizens” across his eight years [3]. For the Trump and Biden years, reporting shows large numbers but a different mix: Biden had carried out about 1.1 million removals/returns through February 2024 and saw a high number of border returns in FY2023; ICE reported about 271,000 deportations in FY2024 alone [4] [5]. The Atlantic and El País report sizable recent deportation/expulsion campaigns under Trump and Biden but emphasize differences in visibility and classification [6] [7].
3. Why Clinton can top the list when you include returns
The El Paso Matters brief’s 12.3 million figure for Clinton combines formal removals with voluntary returns — a category that was used extensively at the southwest border in earlier decades [1]. Historical practices allowed many border apprehensions to be processed as returns or withdrawals rather than formal removals; aggregating those returns with removals produces much larger totals for earlier presidencies [1] [3]. Scholarly accounts note that Clinton-era border enforcement involved massive repatriations/expulsions that are captured when researchers add returns to removals [3].
4. Why Obama is often labeled “deporter‑in‑chief”
Contemporary coverage and academic work focused on formal-removal counts point to Obama’s administrations as having some of the highest formal removal totals in modern history. Pew and Cambridge-press–linked analysis note more than 2 million removals during his presidency and record annual highs such as FY2013’s 438,421 removals, prompting activist labels like “deporter‑in‑chief” [2] [3]. Those tallies refer primarily to formal removals and expedited processes rather than the broader returns-plus-removals measure used in some historical comparisons.
5. Recent presidencies complicate comparisons: returns, Title 42 and new diplomacy
The Biden administration’s recent totals include a high volume of border “returns” and expulsions under policies like Title 42 (originated under Trump but whose majority expulsions occurred during Biden according to reporting), making raw counts of “deportations” harder to compare across eras [7] [4]. BBC and Migration Policy reporting highlight that FY2024 saw hundreds of thousands of deportations and that changes in diplomatic arrangements (getting more countries to accept deportees) also affect annual counts [5] [4]. The Atlantic and other outlets emphasize that rapid, less-visible operations may move large numbers without the public court-based process previously counted as removals [6].
6. Bottom line and caveats
If you define “deported” as the combined total of removals plus returns, the El Paso Matters briefing reports Bill Clinton as highest (about 12.3 million) [1]. If you focus on formal DHS/ICE removals, Barack Obama’s administration registers among the largest modern totals — roughly 2–3 million formal removals across his presidency, with record single-year numbers in 2013 [2] [3]. Recent administrations (Biden and Trump) have produced very large numbers as well, but differences in classification (returns vs. formal removals), policy instruments (Title 42, expulsions, diplomacy), and data reporting mean simple “most” claims require specifying the metric used [4] [5] [6]. Available sources do not mention a single universally accepted “most deported” president without naming which count is being used [1] [2] [3].