Deportations by president at a glance
How many people each president deported depends on what you count. US immigration statistics record two main kinds of deportation. A removal is a formal deportation based on a removal order, which bars the person from coming back for years. A return is when someone, usually caught at or near the border, is sent back without a removal order. From 2020 to 2023 there was a third kind, Title 42 expulsions on public health grounds [1].
The table below sums the Department of Homeland Security’s figures by fiscal year for each term. US fiscal years run from October to September, so each term here starts in the October before the inauguration [1][2].
| President (fiscal years) | Removals | Returns | Removals and returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronald Reagan, 1st term (1981 to 1984) | 70,510 | 3,477,880 | 3,548,380 |
| Ronald Reagan, 2nd term (1985 to 1988) | 97,870 | 4,630,610 | 4,728,470 |
| George H. W. Bush (1989 to 1992) | 141,330 | 4,020,360 | 4,161,680 |
| Bill Clinton, 1st term (1993 to 1996) | 208,810 | 5,159,710 | 5,368,530 |
| Bill Clinton, 2nd term (1997 to 2000) | 660,820 | 6,261,550 | 6,922,380 |
| George W. Bush, 1st term (2001 to 2004) | 805,970 | 4,473,360 | 5,279,310 |
| George W. Bush, 2nd term (2005 to 2008) | 1,206,580 | 3,842,950 | 5,049,540 |
| Barack Obama, 1st term (2009 to 2012) | 1,568,180 | 1,607,510 | 3,175,680 |
| Barack Obama, 2nd term (2013 to 2016) | 1,492,260 | 578,560 | 2,070,810 |
| Donald Trump, 1st term (2017 to 2020) | 1,195,780 | 598,160 | 1,793,940 |
| Joe Biden (2021 to 2024) | 702,640 | 1,329,670 | 2,032,300 |
On top of these, DHS recorded 206,790 Title 42 expulsions in fiscal 2020 under Donald Trump and 2,754,120 in fiscal 2021 to 2023 under Joe Biden [1]. Figures up to 2023 are from the DHS Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2024 from the DHS repatriations data, both rounded to the nearest ten [1][2].
Which president deported the most people?
On formal removals, Barack Obama deported the most: about 3.06 million over his two terms, including a single-year peak of 432,330 in fiscal 2013 [1]. Some immigration campaigners called him the “deporter in chief” for that reason.
If you count returns as well, Bill Clinton’s second term is the highest at about 6.9 million. Returns were the usual way of handling people caught at the border in the 1980s and 1990s, when apprehensions at the Mexican border were very high, and they made up over 90% of the total under Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Clinton [1]. Since the late 2000s, DHS has relied much more on formal removals, which carry penalties if the person tries to return.
The infographic on this page, made by u/delivermeapizza from the 2022 Yearbook, plots the second measure, removals plus returns (and Title 42 expulsions from 2020). That is why it shows Clinton’s second term at the top and Obama’s terms much lower. Both readings are correct; they answer different questions.
What the infographic gets wrong
The figures on the chart add up correctly from the DHS tables, but two things on it are misleading.
- The red bars, labelled “Total Cases”, are not deportation cases. They are DHS apprehension figures (people stopped by the Border Patrol and ICE, counted as events), taken from a different DHS table [3]. That is why “Total Cases” is lower than “Deportation” in some terms, which would make no sense if one were a subset of the other.
- Joe Biden’s bar covers only fiscal 2021 and 2022, so it isn’t comparable with the four-year terms. Most of it (2.2 million of 2.8 million) is Title 42 expulsions [1]. Over his full term, Biden’s removals and returns came to about 2.03 million, plus 2.75 million expulsions.
Deportations by year since 2000
This table gives DHS removals and returns for each fiscal year from 2000, again rounded to the nearest ten [1][2].
| Fiscal year | Removals | Returns | Title 42 expulsions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 188,470 | 1,675,880 | None |
| 2004 | 240,670 | 1,166,580 | None |
| 2008 | 359,800 | 811,260 | None |
| 2010 | 382,450 | 471,800 | None |
| 2012 | 415,580 | 231,100 | None |
| 2013 | 432,330 | 178,980 | None |
| 2014 | 404,700 | 163,560 | None |
| 2016 | 331,550 | 106,450 | None |
| 2018 | 327,280 | 159,700 | None |
| 2019 | 347,320 | 170,950 | None |
| 2020 | 234,510 | 166,820 | 206,790 |
| 2021 | 85,450 | 177,720 | 1,071,070 |
| 2022 | 103,840 | 260,800 | 1,103,970 |
| 2023 | 183,360 | 443,550 | 579,080 |
| 2024 | 329,990 | 447,600 | None |
Removals fell sharply in 2021 and 2022 because most people stopped at the border were expelled under Title 42 instead. After Title 42 ended in May 2023, removals and returns rose again, to about 778,000 in fiscal 2024, the highest total since 2010 [2].
Deportations under Trump’s second term
DHS’s published enforcement tables currently stop at November 2024 (DHS says the monthly report is delayed while under review), so there is no full DHS figure for fiscal 2025 yet [2]. The first official number came from ICE’s budget request to Congress in April 2026: ICE deported 442,637 people in fiscal 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), about 171,000 more than the year before [4]. That fiscal year covers the last four months of Joe Biden’s term and the first eight of Donald Trump’s second. The ICE figure doesn’t include people removed or returned directly by Customs and Border Protection, so it isn’t directly comparable with the DHS totals above.
Donald Trump campaigned on deporting a million people a year, and the same ICE report sets a goal of 1 million deportations for the following year [4].
Why the numbers you see quoted differ
- Some sources count only ICE removals, which leave out removals carried out by Customs and Border Protection at the border.
- Some count removals only, others removals and returns, and some add Title 42 expulsions.
- Some use fiscal years (October to September) and some calendar years, so a president’s first year can include months from his predecessor.
- DHS revises its figures and now rounds them to the nearest ten, so totals in older articles can differ slightly from the latest tables.
Questions about deportations by president
How many people did Obama deport?
About 3.06 million formal removals in fiscal 2009 to 2016, more than any other president, plus about 2.19 million returns [1].
How many people did Bill Clinton deport?
About 869,600 formal removals over his two terms, but about 12.3 million removals and returns combined, most of them people returned at the border [1].
How many people did Trump deport in his first term?
About 1.2 million removals and 598,000 returns in fiscal 2017 to 2020, plus 206,790 Title 42 expulsions in 2020 [1].
How many people did Biden deport?
About 703,000 removals and 1.33 million returns in fiscal 2021 to 2024, plus 2.75 million Title 42 expulsions in 2021 to 2023 [1][2].
What is the difference between a removal and a return?
A removal is based on a formal order and has legal consequences if the person comes back. A return sends someone out of the country without a removal order, often at the border, and doesn’t carry the same penalties [1].
Sources
- Office of Homeland Security Statistics, Yearbook 2023, Table 39. DHS Repatriations: Fiscal Years 1892 to 2023. Term totals are our sums by fiscal year.
- Office of Homeland Security Statistics, DHS Repatriations (fiscal 2015 to 2024) and Immigration Enforcement and Legal Processes Monthly Tables.
- Office of Homeland Security Statistics, Yearbook 2023, Table 33. DHS Initial Enforcement Actions.
- Axios, ICE deported 442k people in fiscal year 2025, 14 April 2026.
- u/delivermeapizza, [OC] Deportations and Total Cases under US Presidents (1981-2022), r/dataisbeautiful.
Last reviewed 7 November 2026
