A Migration Policy Institute analysis found that federal immigration authorities carried out approximately 980,000 deportations during President Donald Trump’s first 18 months back in office, with 69% involving migrants initially apprehended at the border and 20% involving individuals with criminal convictions.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Trump administration carried out approximately 980,000 deportations between Jan. 20, 2025, and July 31, 2026, surpassing the annual pace recorded under former President Joe Biden while substantially increasing immigration enforcement operations within the United States, according to a new analysis by the Migration Policy Institute.
The report released this week found that 69% of deportations involved migrants initially intercepted at the border, while the remaining 31% involved individuals arrested within the country’s interior.
The findings, compiled by Marc Rosenblum, former head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Homeland Security Statistics, provide a detailed assessment of immigration enforcement during the first 18 months of Trump’s second term.
Although most deportations involved border apprehensions, the number resulting from arrests inside the United States increased substantially.
“The number of deportations of immigrants arrested in the country’s interior has also increased, from 8,000 per month on average in the first three months of the administration to 19,000 per month on average between May and July 2026,” the report stated.
The increase reflects the administration’s expanded use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations targeting individuals already residing in American communities.
According to the analysis, interior arrests accounted for 28% of deportations in 2025, rising to 39% by July 2026.
The report also found that approximately 20% of all deportations during the period involved individuals with criminal convictions.
Among immigrants who had lived in the United States for at least two years, 71% of those deported had no criminal conviction. Among those who had resided in the country for at least a decade, 61% had no criminal conviction.
Approximately 390,000 deportations involved individuals with at least two years of U.S. residence, including roughly 90,000 who had lived in the country for 10 years or longer.
The findings distinguish between individuals convicted of crimes and those subject to immigration enforcement because of their legal status. A person without a criminal conviction may still be subject to removal under federal immigration law.
Trump made expanded deportations a central priority of his 2024 presidential campaign, repeatedly emphasizing national security, border enforcement and the removal of individuals unlawfully residing in the country.
“President Donald Trump made immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his re-election campaign, including a promise to focus on ‘the worst of the worst,’” Rosenblum wrote.
“Since taking office in January 2025, the administration has devoted unprecedented resources to the issue, securing $240 billion from Congress for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through fiscal year (FY) 2029.”
The additional funding has supported immigration enforcement personnel, detention capacity and deportation operations.
The administration’s intensified efforts have also prompted demonstrations, community resistance and legal challenges involving immigration arrests and detention practices.
Civil liberties organizations and immigration advocates have raised concerns about due process, racial profiling and the treatment of individuals with longstanding family and community ties in the United States.
Administration officials have defended the enforcement campaign as necessary to uphold immigration laws and address national security concerns.
The Migration Policy Institute found that deportations were running at an annualized pace of approximately 660,000 during fiscal year 2026, compared with approximately 620,000 during the administration’s first year.
That rate represents a 26% increase over the annual average recorded during Biden’s presidency, although it remains below the Trump administration’s stated objective of carrying out 1 million deportations annually.
Historical comparisons also show that the current pace remains below levels recorded during earlier administrations, including 2000, when approximately 1.86 million deportations were reported.
The institute’s figures include both formal removals and returns, two categories with different legal consequences.
Formal removal generally involves an official deportation order and may carry restrictions on future entry, while returns and voluntary departures can allow individuals to leave without the same consequences.
Approximately 170,000 of the deportations identified in the study involved voluntary departure or voluntary return arrangements administered by ICE.
The distinction is significant because figures that combine removals and returns can be substantially higher than counts limited to formal removal orders.
The report also examined the administration’s broader claims about migrants leaving the country voluntarily.
DHS has repeatedly stated that more than 3 million unauthorized immigrants have departed the United States through deportation or self-deportation since January 2025.
However, the Migration Policy Institute concluded that available government records and population estimates do not substantiate that figure.
Using survey information and demographic modeling, researchers estimated that total immigrant departures, including self-deportations, ranged from 1.3 million to 2.4 million during the study period when recent arrivals and border turnarounds were included.
The institute acknowledged that accurately counting voluntary departures remains difficult because the government does not comprehensively track individuals leaving through land border crossings.
Its analysis also noted that the administration has not released the same detailed monthly enforcement statistics previously published by DHS, making independent assessments more difficult.
Meanwhile, immigration enforcement has expanded beyond deportation operations.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the State Department announced that more than 300,000 U.S. visas had been revoked during Trump’s second term, citing criminal activity, fraud and national security concerns.
The administration has also faced litigation over visa revocations involving political demonstrations and public statements, raising additional questions about constitutional protections and federal immigration authority.
The latest deportation figures illustrate the scale of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts while showing that border-related cases continue to account for most removals.
Although arrests within the country’s interior have more than doubled, the report indicates that the administration has not reached its annual deportation target.
With immigration remaining a major national issue ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the findings provide a detailed statistical assessment of the administration’s enforcement record and the changing composition of those being deported.
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