During Donald Trump’s first term (2017–2021), immigration data collected by Syracuse University’s TRAC project show that fewer than about 932,000 people were formally deported by ICE (removals) over four years. In his current term, the exact total is disputed and harder to pin down because the administration has changed how it counts and publicizes deportations.

Key numbers people cite

  • Independent analysts using ICE and DHS data estimate about 1.5 million “deportations” (removals plus returns) during Trump’s first term, compared with about 1.1 million in the early Biden years over a similar span.
  • A detailed TRAC-based count focused just on ICE removals puts Trump’s first‑term total under 932,000, with a peak of about 269,000 in 2019.
  • Since Trump returned to office, officials have claimed figures in the low‑hundreds‑of‑thousands for deportations, but these headline numbers often mix removals, returns at the border, and estimates of people who “self‑deported,” which makes them controversial.

Why the answer isn’t simple

  • Different sources define “deported” differently:
    • “Removals” = formal deportations ordered and carried out by ICE.
    • “Returns” = people sent back quickly at or near the border.
    • Some Trump‑era statements also count changes in survey estimates or people leaving on their own (“self‑deportations”).
  • Because DHS stopped publishing some traditional stats and started blending categories, data journalists and fact‑checkers warn that there is no single, fully reliable official total for Trump’s current term yet.

Best short takeaway

  • A grounded, conservative description is:
    • First Trump term: under about 1 million formal ICE deportations, and roughly 1.5 million when broader deportation categories are included.
* **Current Trump term (so far):** several hundred thousand people removed or returned, but exact totals depend heavily on which categories are counted and are actively disputed.

Information gathered from public data and reporting available online.