No, deportations under Trump were not ‘the highest ever’

On July 17, Thomas Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), claimed that under former President Donald Trump, “deportations rose to the highest level ever” during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Deportation is the removal of noncitizens for violating immigration law.

“Under President Trump, we cut illegal immigration by 90 percent — the lowest level in 45 years. Deportations rose to the highest level ever, including historic numbers of illegal alien gang members and criminals,” Homan said.

THE QUESTION

Were deportations under Donald Trump “the highest ever?”

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

No, deportations under Donald Trump were not “the highest ever.”

WHAT WE FOUND

Deportations under former President Donald Trump were not “the highest ever” like Thomas Homan claimed during his speech at the Republican National Convention on July 17. Instead, data show that most deportations occurred under predecessors to Trump.

Deportation is a nonlegal term referring to various types of removals, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, which uses the term repatriations as a catch-all. Repatriation encompasses all departures by noncitizens from the United States, including removals, administrative and enforcement returns, and expulsions.

Migration Policy Institute data dating back to 1993 show the most repatriations occurred during former President Bill Clinton’s second term in office, averaging 1.7 million annually from 1997 through 2000. Trump’s highest was 608,440 in 2020.

Removal, the largest deportation type under Trump, peaked at 347,280 in 2019. Data show removals were higher in six of former President Barack Obama’s eight years in office.

During the first three years under President Joe Biden, removals averaged 122,000. The Migration Policy Institute said in June the Biden administration is on track to carry out as many removals and returns as the Trump administration did.

“The 1.1 million deportations since the beginning of fiscal year (FY) 2021 through February 2024 (the most recent data available) are on pace to match the 1.5 million deportations carried out during the four years President Donald Trump was in office,” the Migration Policy Institute says on its website.

RNC spokespersons didn’t reply to information requests.

This story was reported in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch, a member of the Gigafact network.