Over the past year, as many as 271,484 immigrants were deported from the United States, data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed. This is the highest number on record since 2014. According to industry analysts, the numbers are set to rise further with the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House.
Indeed, it is hardly a mystery that one of the president-elect’s most cherished plans for his second term is to promote a long series of mass deportations.
The latest ICE data, in particular, reveal that the Biden administration carried out a significant number of deportations in the last fiscal year, exceeding the previous two years, and focusing largely on threats to public safety and national security.
Many of the expulsions involved people who had illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, reflecting the challenge Biden administration officials faced along the southern border.
According to the report, ICE deported people to nearly 200 different countries. As explained by acting director Patrick Lechleitner, “Throughout the year, the agency was called on to do more without commensurate funding, working within the confines of strained resources and competing priorities while steadfastly supporting the Department of Homeland Security and its component agencies in their efforts to secure the border.”
The issue of limited resources is one on which Tom Homan, Trump’s new chosen “border czar,” has also spoken out about. The latter has stated that he will need funds from Congress to boost the agency’s resources and to carry out the mass deportations so dear to the president-elect.
In an interview with CNN, moreover, Homan also explained that at least 100,000 beds would be needed to detain undocumented immigrants, and that ICE would absolutely need new agents.
Lastly, the agency’s latest report reveals that of the 271,484 removals carried out last fiscal year, about 32 percent involved people with criminal records. Between September 2023 and October 2024, ICE took 113,431 immigrants into custody. Of these, 81,312 were convicted criminals or had pending criminal charges at the time of arrest.
