Immigrant removals down as fewer try to cross border
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Deported immigrants from the U.S. are guarded by elements of the Mexico's National Institute of Migration at the entrance of the Paso del Norte International Bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Feb. 1. Photo: Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The number of immigrants removed from the U.S. was down during President Trump's first days in office compared to the daily average in the final weeks of Joe Biden's term, according to early numbers reviewed by Axios.
Why it matters: The data offer a mixed view of how Trump's plans to deport "millions" of unauthorized immigrants and dramatically beef up border security are playing out so far.
Zoom in: On one hand, the large drop in illegal border crossings since Trump took office has significantly reduced the number of people U.S. agents are catching at the border and designating for quick removal.
- Trump is celebrating this decline, saying in a Truth Social post Saturday, "The Invasion of our Country is OVER."
On the other hand, the administration's push to quickly remove millions of undocumented immigrants in the nation's interior has run into the reality of existing laws, limited government resources and legal challenges.
- Immigrants arrested well within the nation's interior are entitled to a court hearing in a system that's backlogged for months.
By the numbers: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removals of immigrants who were in the country illegally declined by 6.5% during Trump's first two full weeks in office, according to the data from the ICE detention management database and collected by the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).
- From Jan. 26 to Feb. 8, the U.S. government removed from the country 693 a day on average, the TRAC analysis found.
- From Oct. 1 to Jan. 25, the period including the last days of the Biden administration, the daily average for removals was 733.
Zoom out: Daily immigrant arrests by ICE were down nearly 5% during the first week of February compared to the daily average during all of fiscal 2024 under the Biden administration.
- ICE arrested an average of 724 people a day the first eight days of February. The average number of arrests in FY 2024 was 759.
A senior White House official told Axios that overall, Trump is happy with the efforts and pace of his immigration crackdown.
- "He's happy with it, but we're not going to take our foot off the gas. It's all gas, no brakes, is what we say," the official said.
The intrigue: Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, told Axios that "removals aren't down" but did not provide data explaining that point of view.
- McLaughlin said about 55,000 people were removed from the U.S. by all enforcement agencies from Jan. 21 to Feb. 27.
- It appears she was referring to removals (deportations and removals of undocumented immigrants), administrative returns (migrants who withdraw applications at ports of entry or crew members on ships who arrive without visas) and enforcement returns (migrants crossing the border who are returned by ICE, the Border Patrol or another agency).
- That figure would be below the monthly average for those categories in fiscal 2024, which was about 67,700 — excluding December, for which there isn't updated data yet.
- In February alone of last year, total removals were more than 69,000 people, according to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
Between the lines: Trump's administration has pleaded with Congress for more funding to ramp up enforcement.
- Border czar Tom Homan has been making the rounds to law enforcement groups, in media interviews and on Capitol Hill to rally support for Trump's biggest campaign promise.
The administration has modified deals with private prison contractors CoreCivic and Geo Group to provide more detention space for arrested immigrants.
- Contractors providing technical and data services also are pitching the administration on how to better share "enforcement lifecycle" data between agencies.
- "Technology is how you supercharge President Trump's policy. Of course ICE is going to need a massive ramping up of resources, but not just legacy additives — creative and innovative solutions are key here," said one person close to the administration, who asked not to be identified because the funding debate is fluid.
What they're saying: "Everybody's caught up in the Dow Jones-ing of ICE arrest numbers — which proves very little," said Jason Houser, a former ICE chief of staff during the Biden administration.
