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During his first month in office, US President Donald Trump deported 37,660 people, according to previously unpublished data from the US Department of Homeland Security. This figure is lower than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns recorded during the final full year of Joe Biden’s administration.
A senior Trump administration official and experts noted that deportations are expected to increase in the coming months as Trump implements new strategies to enhance arrests and removals.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin argued that the higher deportation numbers during the Biden administration appeared “artificially high” due to increased levels of illegal immigration.
Despite campaigning on a promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in what he described as the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, Trump’s initial deportation figures suggest he may face challenges in surpassing the higher rates seen during Biden’s final year in office. During that period, a surge in illegal border crossings made it easier to deport larger numbers of migrants.
The deportation effort could take off in several months, aided by agreements from Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica to take deportees from other nations, the sources said.
The U.S. military has assisted in more than a dozen military deportation flights to Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and India. The Trump administration has also flown Venezuelan migrants to the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay. Trump said in late January that his administration would prepare to detain up to 30,000 migrants there despite pushback from civil liberties groups.
The military-assisted deportations could grow considering the Pentagon’s vast budget and ability to surge resources, according to Adam Isacson, a security expert with the Washington Office on Latin America think tank.
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More ShortsTrump admin eyes ‘mass deportations’ with state dept.’s help
Trump set to broaden arrests and deportation routes to expand immigration crackdown. Trump has promised “mass deportations,” which means not only arresting as many people in the U.S. illegally as possible but also figuring out how to remove them from the country.
That’s where the State Department comes in.
Marco Rubio’s first international trip as secretary of state was to Central America, and he came away with deals for Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador to accept deportees from other nations. That helps officials address a key barrier: Many countries don’t take back their citizens when deported.
Other issues were part of Rubio’s trip — Chinese influence on the Panama Canal, for example — but migration was at the top of his agenda.
Tom Warrick, a former top DHS counterterrorism official who’s now at the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank, said that wasn’t always the case.
“For DHS, for ICE in particular, it’s, ‘What do you need foreign countries to do? OK. State Department, it’s now your requirement to go out and make that your top priority,’” he said.
Trump’s pick for Rubio’s deputy, Christopher Landau, was ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021 and played a key role in implementing the Remain in Mexico policy, and, like Rubio, speaks fluent Spanish.
That’s another sign of immigration’s importance, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for less immigration.
“Just the fact that the two of them are the No. 1 and 2 people in the State Department suggests the administration’s refocus on our own backyard," Krikorian said. “And immigration control is a big part of that.”
And from the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, 600 agents were deputized Tuesday by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to assist in “arresting and deporting” people in the country illegally.
Border security: Pentagon deploys more troops, air force planes
The Defense Department has played a border security role since the administration of George W. Bush, with active-duty and National Guard troops sent to the U.S.-Mexico border to back up Border Patrol agents.
But this administration has taken early high-profile steps that go further.
The Pentagon has beefed up the number of troops at the border and promised more. Instead of relying solely on Immigration and Customs Enforcement charter flights, Air Force planes have been used to carry out 26 deportation flights — a rare step.
In his first trip as secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth visited troops on the border and said all department assets were on the table to assist. That includes Guantanamo Bay, where officials have sent 13 deportation flights of migrants they call “the worst of the worst” — though they’ve given little information about their identities or any crimes.
The administration’s Jan. 20 executive orders outline other possible changes for the Defense Department.
Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border indicates he may redirect money for border wall construction, something he did during his first term. And he gave Hegseth and Noem 90 days for recommendations on what’s needed to take complete control of the southern border, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act. That would allow officials to circumvent rules limiting military involvement in civilian law-enforcement duties.
Warrick said the general public has largely been OK with the Pentagon taking part “behind the scenes,” but that might change if the role becomes more visible.
With inputs from agencies