Data Reveals Obama Administration's Interior Removals Nearly Triple Early Trump 2.0 Figures

Recent data from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) indicates that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted an average of 12,900 interior removals per month during the Barack Obama administration (Fiscal Years 2009-2016). This figure significantly surpasses the average of 6,800 interior removals per month during former President Donald Trump's first term (FY 2017-2020) and the 4,300 recorded in February of his current term. The statistics contradict a recent social media post by Ryan James Girdusky, who asserted that the Obama administration's interior removals "never surpassed 200,000 a year" and that Trump is "deporting 2x as many as Obama" in this category.

Girdusky’s tweet stated, > "Obama counted people caught at the border and turned away as a deportation. The average number of interior removals never surpassed 200,000 a year. Because the border is secure, Trump is only counting interior removals. Deporting 2x as many as Obama."

However, official definitions differentiate between "removals," which are compulsory movements based on an order, and "returns," which are movements not based on a formal order, such as voluntary departures. While the Obama administration's overall deportation numbers, including both border and interior enforcement, were substantial—leading to the moniker "Deporter-In-Chief" for overseeing 2.4 million deportations—the focus on interior removals presents a different picture. The MPI analysis highlights that interior removals under Obama were consistently higher than those under Trump's first term and the initial months of his second term.

During the Obama years, the average of 12,900 interior removals per month translates to approximately 154,800 annually, falling below the 200,000 mark mentioned in the tweet. This aspect of Girdusky's claim regarding Obama's annual interior removal average is largely consistent with available data. However, the assertion that Trump is deporting twice as many as Obama in interior removals is not supported by the figures, which show Obama's monthly average for interior removals was nearly double Trump's first term and almost triple the early figures of his current term.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has historically distinguished between border enforcement actions and interior enforcement. Interior enforcement, primarily managed by ICE, involves identifying, arresting, and removing noncitizens within the United States. The recent data underscores a shift in the numerical focus of interior enforcement between administrations, with the Obama era seeing a higher volume of such actions compared to both of Trump's terms to date.