(The Center Square) – U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claims that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement broke records this past year deporting and arresting the most illegal foreign nationals in U.S. history.
More than 491,000 illegal foreign nationals were arrested and more than 483,000 were deported during fiscal 2026, DHS says. The fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
The deportation number is less than what President Donald Trump vowed to do when running for office. He pledged to conduct the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history by removing one million people a year.
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management says the data it obtained from ICE shows the deportation total is less than what DHS claims. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has been reporting on federal data for decades as a public service to provide transparency.
ICE said the 483,200 deportations in fiscal 2026 broke the record for the highest number of deportations in agency history. In fiscal 2025, ICE carried out 442,640 deportations, DHS said.
“Fiscal Year 2026 saw the highest number of ICE deportations and arrests for any year in ICE’s history. September 2026 was the best September in ICE’s history in terms of arrests. The total number of ICE arrests in Fiscal Year 2026 was more than all three full fiscal years under Biden combined, as the patriots of ICE work around the clock to make America safe again,” Mullin said in a statement.
By comparison, in fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024, during the Biden administration, a total of 486,000 illegal foreign nationals were deported, DHS says.
DHS claims the fiscal 2026 deportation total is “more than eight times the number of deportations in Biden’s first fiscal year,” when 59,000 deportations were reported.
ICE’s 475,000 administrative arrests for immigration violations are also “by far the highest total in ICE’s history,” DHS said. They are more than the 427,000 deported in three fiscal years (2022-2024) under the Biden administration, DHS says.
In September alone, ICE made more than 48,000 arrests and 44,000 removals, DHS said, a more than 300% increase over the average September during the Biden administration.
This was after ICE broke records in August, “shattering the record for the most illegal aliens arrested by ICE in a single month, at 50,925. This broke the previous record held by July 2026, which saw 50,208 illegal aliens arrested. The record prior to July was held by June 2026, when 43,900 illegal aliens were arrested,” DHS said.
Since Trump took office, more than three million illegal foreign nationals have left the U.S.. The majority, roughly two million, self-deported. As of Oct. 31, ICE deported nearly 1.2 million and arrested more than 1.25 million, DHS said.
Citing ICE data it obtained, TRAC says removals actually declined after Trump took office.
“Case-by-case records current through August 24, 2026, obtained by TRAC through successful litigation under FOIA document that contrary to news reporting and public perception, the number of individuals removed from the United States actually declined after President Trump assumed office in January 2025,” it says.
It obtained records from DHS’s Enforcement Integrated Database, the official repository of immigration enforcement data from ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol. It includes information on more than 19 million people.
During the first full month of Trump’s second term, ICE reported 30,893 removals, according to the data. In July 2026, the last full month of data TRAC obtained, removals dropped by 13% to 26,908, according to TRAC.
The Trump administration’s deportation record “has also lagged behind a number of past administrations,” TRAC said when analyzing recently released case-by-case records.
It claims the ICE data it obtained indicates that the most removals occurred in fiscal 2024 under the Biden administration and removals during the last 12 months are less than in any fiscal year from 2008 to 2016.
According to a Migration Policy Institute analysis, the Clinton administration deported/removed 12 million; Bush administration 10 million and Obama administration 5 million, The Center Square reported.
TRAC argues discrepancies exist due to which data is being classified as a deportation.
“When ICE speaks about removals, in the fine print they usually include removals plus returns,” TRAC said. “Removals bar an individual from legally returning to the United States for a period of years. For returns, reentry is not legally barred.”
By using a broader definition of deportations, ICE is including voluntary departures and voluntary returns along with removals, TRAC said. “Even with voluntary departures and voluntary returns added to traditional removals, these EID records document that deportations are not as high or are about the same as the number of deportations twenty years ago.”
For example, ICE data from July and August has removals accounting for 63% of total deportations, voluntary departures accounting for 31% and voluntary returns 6%, it says.
DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment about which data is included in its deportation totals.
This article was originally published by The Center Square and is republished under its open-access guidelines.