The Department of Homeland Security announced that as of Oct. 27, over two million undocumented immigrants have left the United States. While more than 500,000 were deported, 1.6 million departed voluntarily.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, “This is just the beginning,” and emphasized that DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection have made significant progress in fulfilling President Donald Trump’s commitment to enforce immigration laws.
At the outset of Trump’s second presidential term, the White House unveiled Executive Order 14159, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” In this proclamation, the administration sharply criticized the approach to immigration taken by former President Joe Biden, vowing to implement tougher enforcement. The address repeatedly used the word “alien” for undocumented immigrants, a term often seen as demeaning. The administration called for swift new policies to expel those who they claimed endanger the safety or security of Americans.
In a sweeping announcement, the White House revealed that several executive orders from the Biden era have been revoked to pave the way for a new, stricter immigration policy. With these changes, colleges and universities now face renewed exposure to ICE and immigration enforcement. Under Executive Order 14159, the government now requires all immigrants to complete rigorous registration and screening procedures.
Those are just a few of the policies that have been assertively enforced during this term. However, it appears that the sources claiming these massive numbers do not have primary statistical sources to prove that 527,000 illegal immigrants have been deported.
Several sources have raised concerns regarding the accuracy of reported deportation figures. The New Republic highlighted skepticism about these statistics, citing Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, who disputes the claim that DHS has deported or removed more than half a million individuals. He notes that as of Aug. 28, ICE had recorded just under 200,000 deportations, with the number likely closer to 260,000 by the end of October.
Additionally, Newsweek references Migration Policy Institute policy analyst Kathleen Bush-Joseph, who emphasizes the need for disaggregated data on arrests, removals, and returns by agency, as well as information on the location of arrests, to accurately interpret these figures. These statements suggest that the reported numbers may be inflated due to unaccounted factors.
Even with little statistical transparency, Trump seems determined to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants. Inside the administration, many believe the pace of deportations is lagging behind expectations.