So far, Trump’s immigration enforcement record has been characterized by a high number of arrests and a low number of deportations. According to data obtained by NBC News, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested the highest number of individuals in at least five years last month.
However, deportations are still significantly behind the promises made by President Donald Trump and even those made during the Obama administration. The disparity between arrests and deportations underscores the obstacles that the Trump administration must overcome in order to fulfill its Inauguration Day commitment to deport “millions and millions” of immigrants. The number of immigrants arrested by ICE agents last month
was approximately 30,000, the highest since monthly data was made publicly available in November 2020, according to ICE data. However, the number of immigrants deported in June, which exceeded 18,000, was approximately half the number of arrests, according to internal figures obtained by NBC News. The previous month’s disparity between arrests and deportations was comparable.
According to the ICE data, the Trump administration deported more than 15,000 immigrants and incarcerated approximately 24,000 in May. The discrepancy observed during the second Trump administration can be partially attributed to the number of immigrants who are being detained but are not immediately eligible for deportation. NBC News has been informed by immigration lawyers that a significant number of their clients
who have been detained have pending asylum cases and orders from immigration judges that are temporarily preventing their deportation. The Trump administration has conducted an average of 14,700 deportations per month since February. This is significantly lower than the monthly average of 36,000 in 2013, the year during which the Obama administration experienced the highest number of deportations.
According to ICE data obtained by NBC News, the Biden administration deported an average of 12,660 immigrants from February to April 2024. (The Biden administration’s deportation figures were influenced by a significant increase in the number of immigrants apprehended by Customs
and Border Protection at the southern border.) According to agency data, the previous record high for arrests was achieved in January 2023, when ICE apprehended 18,170 individuals. The Trump administration is attempting to expedite the removal of a significant number of individuals with pending asylum cases by terminating their cases and placing them on “expedited removal” paths without hearings.
Additionally, the administration is deporting individuals with orders that are preventing their removal to their home countries to alternative third countries. The congestion in ICE facilities is also a result of the high number of arrests and the deportations occurring at a rate that is approximately half that of the arrests. A senior administration official has reported that Congress has allocated 41,500 beds for detention facilities,
despite the fact that nearly 60,000 immigrants are currently being detained there. Hygiene, medical care, food insecurity, and access to linens and laundry facilities have been the subject of complaints from immigrants in ICE detention.According to Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE,
any assertion regarding “subprime conditions or overcrowding is categorically false.” “She stated in a statement that all detainees are afforded the opportunity to communicate with their family members and attorneys, as well as receive appropriate medical treatment and meals.” “ICE has worked diligently to secure additional detention space while preventing overcrowding as we arrest and remove criminal
illegal aliens and public safety threats from the U.S.” McLaughlin also stated that the Trump administration has deported more than 253,000 immigrants. However, she did not specify the number of immigrants who were deported and whether DHS included those who were interdicted by the Coast Guard, voluntarily departed, or turned around at the border.
The deportation data examined by NBC News encompasses individuals who are apprehended by both Customs and Border Protection and ICE and subsequently returned to their home countries or third countries that have consented to their return. ICE’s capacity to detain immigrants is anticipated to be tripled with the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by Congress, which will provide $45 billion in detention funding.
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