Trump Admin's Deportation Figures Track Below Obama's—New Data
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New data reveals that deportation figures under the Trump administration are currently tracking below those recorded during President Obama's tenure.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump pledged to supporters that his administration would remove millions of individuals living in the U.S. without legal status. His term has seen an increase in widespread immigration raids, a halt to asylum processing for undocumented migrants, and executive orders aimed at expanding the authority of ICE to detain those in the country illegally. The administration has been ramping up pressure on federal agents to increase arrest and removal figures.
Former President Barack Obama talks with President-elect Donald Trump before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
Former President Barack Obama talks with President-elect Donald Trump before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
What To Know
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded nearly 150,000 deportations, averaging over 800 per day, according to CBS News. If this rate continues, the agency is on track to carry out more than 300,000 removals during the president's first year back in office.
During Obama's administration, DHS deported approximately 2.8 million individuals. Deportations increased steadily during the president's first term, starting with 389,843 removals in 2009 and peaking at 435,498 in 2013. Deportations declined after 2013, falling to 240,255 by 2016—the lowest annual total of his presidency.
ICE isn't the only federal agency involved in deportations. In the first six months of Trump's presidency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded over 112,000 deportations, according to government data obtained by CBS News. These included migrants who were apprehended after crossing the southern border illegally.
While deportations have risen again under Trump, they have yet to surpass Obama's peak levels.
More than 300,000 ICE deportations in a year would still fall well below the Trump administration's stated goal of reaching 1 million removals annually.
With the administration still early in its term, factors like detention capacity and bed spaces may limit increases.
ICE's deportation efforts could grow substantially over the next six months, following a major increase in funding provided through President Trump's recently passed "One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).
Under the OBBB, ICE is set to receive $45 billion to expand detention capacity to nearly 100,000 beds, $14 billion to support transportation and removal operations, and $8 billion to hire 10,000 additional deportation officers.
Scott Mechkowski, a retired ICE agent, told Newsweek that achieving 1 million removals is "theoretically possible but highly challenging and doubtful."
"A more feasible outcome is 500,000–600,000 total removals, a significant increase but still short of 1 million. Over a longer term, two years with infrastructure and staffing fully scaled, the goal becomes more attainable if political and legal conditions remain favorable," Mechkowski said.
What People Are Saying
Mechkowski, told Newsweek: "ICE needs to hire, train, and field new agents."
John Sandweg, who was acting director of ICE under President Barack Obama, from August 2013 to February 2014, said, "This current administration is chaotic. It's moving at breakneck speeds. They're under tremendous pressure.
"When you have your officers and agents focused on grabbing as many people as you can. What you're doing is you're diverting the resources that could be focused on those more serious criminal populations, the real problem here."
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