The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has disputed an analysis of deportations under President Donald Trump, defending its immigration crackdown after the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimated that the administration had deported about 980,000 people during its first 18 months in office.
The department also said the country had recorded 17 months with zero releases of migrants at the border and credited Trump with a sharp reduction in illegal immigration .
In a post on X on October 25, DHS called the report “FAKE NEWS” and claimed that most Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removals involved migrants arrested inside the United States.
DHS challenges Migration Policy Institute findings
In its October 25 post, the department maintained that most ICE removals originated in the US interior. The estimated 980,000 deportation s included removals and returns recorded by ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) between January 20, 2025, and July 31, 2026, according to MPI report. MPI estimated that the administration was on track for approximately 660,000 deportations in fiscal year 2026. The institute estimated between 1.3 million and 2.4 million total departures from January 20, 2025, to July 31, 2026, when accounting for border turnarounds and deportations involving people who had been in the country for less than a year.
Because the government does not comprehensively track voluntary departures, it said a precise count was difficult.
DHS endorsed reporting by Fox News correspondent Brooke Taylor, who said department sources were challenging MPI’s figures. The department’s post did not include a detailed breakdown to reconcile its position with MPI’s findings. The institute based its analysis on federal data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and records from the Deportation Data Project. That was above the annual average under former president Joe Biden but below Trump’s stated target of one million deportations a year.
