Did Obama Deport More People Than Trump? What the Data Actually Shows

In political debates, the conversation often turns to whether Barack Obama deported more people than Donald Trump. When you look at overall deportations using the federal government’s main tracking categories, Obama’s totals were higher than Trump’s during Trump’s first term. That comparison is accurate, but it still doesn’t tell the full story.

“Deportation” is not a single, simple number. The meaning changes depending on what the government counts. In federal data, it can refer to formal removals carried out under an official deportation order, quick returns at or near the border that bypass full legal proceedings, or, in later years, Title 42 expulsions. That pandemic-era policy, in effect from March 2020 through May 2023, allowed officials to expel migrants without the standard immigration process.

That’s why this debate gets so confusing so fast. However, the numbers speak for themselves.

If you count removals and returns together, which is how the federal government has traditionally tracked overall deportations, Obama did deport more people during his presidency than Trump did during his first term.

The Migration Policy Institute found that the Obama administration deported about 3.2 million people during his first term, from fiscal year 2009 through 2012. It deported another 2.1 million during his second term, from fiscal year 2013 through 2016. Using those categories, that puts Obama’s total at roughly 5.3 million deportations across eight years.

By comparison, during Trump’s first term from fiscal year 2017 through 2020, the Department of Homeland Security recorded about 2 million deportations, according to WLRN. That total combined formal removals, returns, and, in 2020, early Title 42 expulsions tied to the pandemic. On the broad question of how many people the United States forced out of the country, Obama’s numbers were higher than Trump’s over Trump’s first four years.

Even when the comparison narrows to removals only, Obama still comes out ahead. The Migration Policy Institute reported that the Obama administration carried out 1,575,423 removals during his first term and 1,518,785 during his second term, for a total of just over 3.09 million formal removals. Those totals include some of the highest annual deportation numbers ever recorded. The Pew Research Center reported that the Obama administration deported a record 438,421 unauthorized immigrants in fiscal year 2013.

In December 2025, Reuters reported that about 622,000 immigrants had been deported since Trump took office in January 2025. The Migration Policy Institute cited the same figure after DHS said 622,000 noncitizens had been deported as of Dec. 19, 2025.

However, that 622,000 number isn’t easy to compare directly with earlier administrations. The Migration Policy Institute has flagged a transparency issue, noting that DHS has not consistently released the same detailed breakdowns that were routinely published under prior presidents.

Policy-wise, there appears to be a more aggressive approach in Trump’s second term, paired with a push for resources and capacity. According to Reuters, the administration plans to hire more agents, open detention centers, and expand enforcement actions.