How Do Trump's Deportations Compare to Past Presidents?

President Donald Trump's immigration plans were a cornerstone of his campaign. How drastic are they?

Biden's Numbers: “[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] arrests under Biden between fiscal 2021 and 2024 ranged from an average of 200 to 470 per day, depending on the year. A total of 500,000 arrests occurred in that period,” according to The Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias).

Obama's Numbers: ICE arrested 882 unauthorized immigrants per day in 2011, the highest of President Barack Obama's eight years in office. Over 311,000 immigrants were arrested that year. During his second term, over 641,000 arrests occurred, per the same Examiner article.

Trump's Numbers: During Trump’s first term, daily arrests ranged from 280 to 440 for a total of 548,000 arrests between 2017 and 2020. The second Trump administration arrested 2,300 in its first week, reaching approximately 5,500 in 10 days. “Over 10 years, ICE took into custody an average of 350 migrants a day. During President Trump's first days in office, the pace has picked up to more than 791 arrests each day,” according to Scripps News (Center). “At Trump’s present rate, he would finish the calendar year with 200,000 arrests. If he sustained that pace over four years, he would still fall short of coming anywhere close to Obama’s 1.2 million arrests over four years,” the Examiner added.

For Context: On Monday, a large protest in Los Angeles of Trump's immigration policy shut down part of the 101 Freeway for several hours. Protests also took place in New York, Chicago, and Houston. Some businesses closed and children stayed home from school across the U.S. in observance of “A Day Without Immigrants,” reminiscent of a similar observance held in 2017 shortly after Trump first took office.