The administration of US President Donald Trump oversaw approximately 980,000 deportations during the first 18 months of his second term, with only 20% involving people who had criminal convictions, according to a new report by the Migration Policy Institute.
The report, published on Thursday, found that among immigrants who had lived in the United States for at least two years before being deported, 71% had no criminal conviction.
The findings were documented by Marc Rosenblum, a former head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
Although deportations under Trump have increased compared with the administration of former President Joe Biden and Trump’s first term, the report said the figures remain considerably below the levels regularly recorded in the early 2000s.
Of the 980,000 deportations carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection during Trump’s second term, approximately 580,000, or 59%, were removals. Another 300,000, representing 30%, were enforcement returns, while 110,000, or 11%, were administrative returns.
Trump has defended his administration’s immigration crackdown, arguing that its deportation campaign is intended to strengthen domestic security.
However, human rights advocates have criticised the measures, alleging that the crackdown has violated due process and free speech rights while creating an environment of fear, particularly among ethnic minorities who have raised concerns about racial profiling.
The administration’s immigration policies have also extended to visa restrictions. The US State Department disclosed on Tuesday that more than 300,000 visas had been revoked during Trump’s second term.
Among the decisions criticised by rights advocates were visa revocations involving pro-Palestinian protesters who demonstrated against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, as well as foreign nationals whose social media comments about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk drew scrutiny.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s deportation efforts have faced multiple legal challenges, with courts delivering mixed outcomes in cases involving the government’s immigration enforcement policies.
