According to a new Reuters analysis, President Joe Biden’s Administration is currently deporting more immigrants than former President Donald Trump did during his four years in office. For many, the newer immigration policies leading to this change were too long in coming, as immigration has been one of the top concerns in all national polls for at least a year.
Presidential Nominee Talking Points
Both presumed Presidential Nominees have recently been rehearsing talking points about returning more migrants to their countries of origin.
Trump’s Plans for Deportations
Trump has been discussing increasing deportations to historic levels during a second term. This assertion highlights his difference with Biden, who, for most of his first term, allowed the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico southern border to persist until very recently when the border was closed to asylum seekers.
Biden’s Summer Policy Initiative
Biden’s June policy initiative to close the border when certain migrant thresholds are crossed is the most consequential of his term. It aimed at quickly deporting new migrants crossing the border and preventing the entry of asylum seekers beyond the capacity of the current border patrol and border states to process and absorb migrants.
Pathway to Citizenship
In addition to deporting many and refusing entry to others, Biden’s recent actions have also allowed hundreds of thousands of current unlawful residents to achieve a pathway to citizenship if they are married to a citizen or a child of a citizen.
Prioritizing Deportations
Finally, Biden’s Administration took a page out of the Trump handbook to prioritize the deportation of migrants considered a national security risk or public safety threat.
Trump’s Deportation Promises
On Trump’s side, he has continued to promote his 2015 Campaign promise to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. unlawfully.
Actual Deportation Numbers During Trump’s Tenure
In practice, however, Trump restricted his policy priorities to deporting the 2-3 million immigrants residing illegally in the country who had a criminal record.
Deportation Numbers Comparison
When considering Trump’s tenure from 2017-2021, the actual number of deportations came in lower than during the Obama Administration, which immigration advocacy groups labeled as the “deporter in chief.”
Biden’s Increased Deportation Activities
If Trump had deported fewer immigrants than Obama, Biden would have had fewer deportations than Trump, at least in his first two years in the White House.
However, as the migrant crisis at the border picked up speed exponentially, the Biden White House had to react with increased deportation activities, including deporting families, toward the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024.
Recent Deportation Statistics
The last quarter of 2023 and the first two quarters of 2024 saw Biden’s deportations outpace Trump’s.
Migrant Encounters During Biden’s Administration
The Trump Campaign would be quick to point out that the number of migrant encounters during the Biden administration was at historic and unsustainable highs. However, it is possible that Biden’s immigration policies during his first years in office served as a ‘magnet’ to draw the migrants to the US-Mexico southern border.
Trump and Biden’s Debate Responses
Trump was asked about his approach to deporting millions of unlawful residents during the first Presidential debate in June. He did not provide a detailed answer but said, “We have to get a lot of these people out, and we have to get them out fast.”
Biden’s Debate Response to Deportation Plan
In answering the same question, Biden pointed to his new asylum ban as a measure to stem the flow of migrants into the country. He did not elaborate on a plan to address the population of immigrants illegally present in the country who are either undocumented or have overstayed a visa.
