During his first month in office, President Donald Trump deported 37,660 migrants, according to Reuters. While this figure is significant, it remains considerably lower than the monthly average recorded in the final year of the Biden administration.
Data from the Department of Homeland Security indicates that approximately 57,000 removals and returns occurred each month during former President Joe Biden’s last year in office.
During his campaign, Trump pledged to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, aiming to expel millions of illegal immigrants. However, early data suggests he may struggle to reach the higher deportation levels seen in Biden’s last full year, a period when a surge in illegal border crossings made removals more frequent.
Response from the administration
Meanwhile, a senior Trump administration official and experts indicated that deportation numbers are expected to increase in the coming months as the administration expands efforts to arrest and remove illegal migrants.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin argued that the high deportation figures under the Biden administration seemed “artificially high” due to increased levels of illegal immigration.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the deportation push is likely to gain momentum in the next few months, supported by agreements with Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica to accept deportees from other countries.
Deportation under Trump 2.0
According to Reuters, since Trump took office on January 20, the U.S. military has facilitated over a dozen deportation flights to Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and India.
Additionally, the Trump administration has transported Venezuelan migrants to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
In late January, Trump stated that his administration was preparing to detain up to 30,000 migrants at the facility, despite opposition from civil liberties groups. The administration is also working to expand efforts to arrest deportable migrants without criminal records and increase the detention of individuals with final deportation orders.
Last month, the Justice Department issued a memo reversing a Biden-era policy, now allowing ICE officers to arrest migrants at U.S. immigration courts.
