Trump deported 980,000 people in 18 months and only one in five had a criminal conviction, MPI report says

Washington — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) carried out about 980,000 deportations during the first 18 months of President Donald Trump's second administration, from January 2025 to July 2026, according to a report published Thursday by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) think tank.

The report's most striking finding is that only 20% of those deported had a criminal conviction — one in five. And among deportees who had been living in the United States for two or more years, 71% had no criminal record, according to the document, authored by Marc Rosenblum, a former head of the DHS Office of Homeland Security Statistics.

Of the 980,000 deportations by ICE and Customs and Border Protection, about 59% (580,000) were formal removals, 30% (300,000) enforcement returns, and 11% (110,000) administrative returns, the analysis said.

The report notes that the annual deportation pace exceeds that of the Joe Biden administration and Trump's first term, but remains well below the levels routinely seen in the early 2000s.

Trump has defended his immigration policy as a measure to improve the country's domestic security. Immigrant-rights advocates, however, argue the crackdown has violated due process and free-speech rights and created an unsafe environment, with complaints of racial profiling.

The report also cites the State Department's announcement on Tuesday that the administration has revoked more than 300,000 U.S. visas during this second term, including those of pro-Palestinian protesters and foreigners over social media comments about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

Photo: Archivo A Lo Claro

Source: Reuters