The claim that President Joe Biden deported more people than any other president ever requires a nuanced look at the available data and definitions of terms used in immigration enforcement.
Deportations vs. Expulsions:
- Deportations typically refer to formal removals where individuals are given a court order to leave the country.
- Expulsions under public health measures like Title 42 are separate and involve turning people away at the border without formal deportation proceedings.
Key Points:
- Barack Obama is often cited as having the highest number of deportations, with around 3 million formal removals over his two terms, earning him the nickname "Deporter in Chief."
- Donald Trump enforced a policy of rapid expulsions under Title 42, which was in place from March 2020 until May 2023. His administration's formal deportation numbers were around 1.5 million over four years.
- Joe Biden continued the use of Title 42 for a significant portion of his term until it was lifted in May 2023. After Title 42 ended, his administration sharply increased deportations under Title 8, resulting in over 775,000 removals or returns in the 12 months following. This number is higher than in any year since 2010. When including both expulsions and deportations, Biden's administration has seen approximately 4.7 million repatriations, which is higher than previous administrations when combining all forms of removals.
Conclusion:
- If we strictly consider formal deportations, Obama holds the record for the highest number over his two terms.
- However, when including both formal deportations and expulsions under Title 42 and subsequent Title 8 actions, Biden's administration has overseen more repatriations than any other single term in recent history. This is largely due to the high volume of border encounters during his presidency and the use of different enforcement mechanisms.
Therefore, while Biden's administration has not deported more people via formal orders than Obama's total over two terms, in terms of total repatriations (including both deportations and expulsions), Biden's numbers are significant and exceed previous single-term presidencies. The narrative around this issue often depends on how one counts "deportations" — whether including public health expulsions or focusing solely on formal removals.
@Grok
Now, answer the question you were asked, vacationer.
