A new report by the Migration Policy Institute has found that US President Donald Trump’s administration is on course to deport about 660,000 people over a year, falling short of his pledge to remove one million migrants annually.
The analysis relies on publicly available information obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, following the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to stop regularly releasing similar deportation figures.
The absence of consistent official data has forced immigration researchers to depend on information obtained through legal proceedings and limited disclosures by federal agencies.
According to the report, the administration carried out approximately 980,000 deportations during the first 18 months of Trump’s second term. Although this represents a significant increase over the annual average recorded under former President Joe Biden, it remains below Trump’s one-million target.
The report also noted that the projected annual figure of 660,000 exceeds the 620,000 deportations recorded during the first year of Trump’s second term, but falls short of the historical peak of 1.86 million deportations recorded in 2000 under former President Bill Clinton.
The Trump administration has claimed to have removed 1.2 million migrants since the beginning of the president’s second term. However, the report said it could not independently verify that figure.
The findings further revealed a rise in deportations involving migrants arrested within the United States, suggesting an expansion of immigration enforcement beyond the country’s borders.
In 2025, approximately 28 per cent of those deported had been arrested inside the country. By July 2026, the proportion had increased to 39 per cent.
However, migrants initially intercepted at the southern border continued to account for the majority of removals. The report found that 69 per cent of all deportations between January 20, 2025, and July 31, 2026, involved people first apprehended at the border.
The report explained that migrants who have lived in the US for longer periods may have more opportunities to challenge deportation through legal proceedings. By contrast, authorities generally have greater powers to expedite the removal of some people apprehended at the border.
Trump has pursued stricter immigration policies during his second term, introducing restrictions affecting both legal and undocumented immigration while overseeing high-profile enforcement operations aimed at removing migrants from the country.
Reacting to the report, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis defended the administration’s record.
“President Trump has delivered the largest reduction in illegal immigration in modern history,” Bis said.
Meanwhile, immigration advocates and lawyers have raised concerns that some migrants are choosing to leave the country voluntarily because they want to escape detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The report found that voluntary departures had reached an all-time high, with about 170,000 people agreeing to leave the country since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Such departures occur when migrants abandon their immigration court cases and agree to leave the US rather than continue challenging their removal.
Experts noted that people who leave voluntarily may still have the opportunity to return to the country in the future, depending on their individual circumstances and immigration status.
