U.S. deportations are returning to Obama-era levels

The U.S. deported 53,764 Mexican nationals during the first three months of 2018, the AP reports, up 40% from the same period in 2017.

Why it matters: As Axios' Stef Kight reported in December, there were 177,000 fewer deportations in 2017 than the year of lowest deportations under Obama (2009), despite Trump's tough-on-immigration rhetoric. However, this year's figures are now greater than those from the same period of 2016, Barack Obama's last year in office.