---
title: "US deportations rose to decade high in fiscal 2024, outpacing Trump years"
description: "WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. deportations of immigrants rose in the past year to the highest level since 2014, according to a U.S. government report released on Thursday, part of a broader push by outgoing President Joe Biden to reduce illegal immigration."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-12-20-us-deportations-rose-to-decade-high-in-fiscal-2024-outpacing-trump-years/"
published: "2024-12-20T04:38:54"
updated: "2024-12-20T04:38:56"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 279
---

# US deportations rose to decade high in fiscal 2024, outpacing Trump years

> WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. deportations of immigrants rose in the past year to the highest level since 2014, according to a U.S. government report released on Thursday, part of a broader push by outgoing President Joe Biden to reduce illegal immigration.

By Reuters · Published 20 December 2024, 06:38 SAST · Updated 20 December 2024, 06:38 SAST

## Key points
- In a twist that would make even the most seasoned political acrobat dizzy, the Biden administration has out-deported Trump, sending a record 271,000 immigrants packing in fiscal year 2024, all while promising to soften the immigration blow—proving once again that in the U.S. immigration saga, the only constant is change.
- ICE deported approximately 271,000 immigrants in fiscal year 2024, the highest number since Biden took office.
- Despite initial promises to ease immigration policies, Biden's administration has seen a toughening of enforcement measures amid rising illegal immigration.
- The incoming Trump administration plans to leverage federal resources for a significant deportation initiative, targeting millions of undocumented immigrants.
- While deportations increased, ICE arrests of undocumented immigrants fell by 33% in fiscal year 2024, as officers shifted focus to border security.

## Content

By Ted Hesson

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported some 271,000 immigrants to 192 countries in fiscal year 2024, which ended on Sept. 30, according to the agency's annual enforcement report. The tally was the highest since Biden took office in 2021 and higher than any year of President-elect Donald Trump's 2017-2021 administration, according to U.S. government statistics.

Biden, a Democrat, took office pledging to roll back Trump's more restrictive immigration policies but struggled with high levels of illegal immigration and gradually toughened his enforcement approach. Trump, a Republican, won another term in the White House in November promising to deport record numbers of immigrants in the U.S. illegally as part of a broader immigration crackdown.

Some [11 million immigrants](https://www.reuters.com/data/who-are-immigrants-who-could-be-targeted-trumps-mass-deportation-plans-2024-12-18/) lacked legal status or had temporary protections in 2022, according to government and think-tank estimates, a figure that some analysts now place at 13-14 million.

The incoming Trump administration [plans](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL6N3MB0C2&linkedFromStory=true) to tap resources across the federal government to power the planned deportation initiative, Reuters reported last month.

Trump tried to increase deportations during his first term with limited success. ICE removed 267,000 immigrants in fiscal year 2019, fewer than most years under Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

When looking at both deportations by ICE and returns to Mexico by U.S. border authorities, Biden [had more](https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-ELECTION/MIGRATION-DEPORTATIONS/akpeoeoerpr/) in fiscal 2023 than any Trump year.

While deportations rose in fiscal year 2024, the number of ICE arrests of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally dropped by 33% compared with the previous year, the agency's annual report said, attributing the falloff to more officers assisting with border security operations.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Alistair Bell)