The Biden-Harris administration has ratcheted up its removals of illegal migrants from the United States, marking a sharp turn in policy from its first days in office.
Deportation officers removed nearly 68,000 foreign nationals in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, which spans from July to September, according to the latest data provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This number marked roughly 1,000 more deportations from the second quarter and a nearly 70% increase from the same period in 2023. (RELATED: NYC Won’t Honor Detainer On Illegal Migrant Accused Of Robbing, Masturbating In Front Of Prosecutor)
“With the public release of this enforcement data, ICE continues to demonstrate its commitment to keeping communities safe and focusing our enforcement resources on those who pose threats to public safety and national security,” ICE Deputy Director Patrick Lechleitner said in a press release. “We will continue to evaluate and enhance how the agency communicates measurable data to the public.”
The latest numbers are a continuation of a years-long trend over the course of the Biden-Harris administration.
Los Angeles, CA – September 08: Thomas Giles, Field Office Director, center, talks to raiding party agent after a raid to arrest an illegal immigrant with criminal record on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
There were more than 200,000 removals of foreign nationals in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2024, according to the latest figures from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations statistics. This marks an uptick from the roughly 142,500 removals conducted in all of fiscal year 2023 and a dramatic increase from the 72,177 removals in fiscal year 2022 and the 59,011 removals that took place in fiscal year 2021.
President Joe Biden — who campaigned in 2020 on a promise to roll back then-president Donald Trump’s tough approach to immigration enforcement — entered office and immediately signed an executive order that placed a moratorium on nearly all deportations for 100 days. While that order was struck down in court, the attempt was in line with the Biden-Harris administration’s overall policy of quickly winding down immigration enforcement actions.
In the first year of his presidency, Biden undertook 296 executive actions on immigration, according to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute. Of these executive actions, 89 specifically reversed or initiated the process of reversing Trump’s immigration policies.
The 46th president has since undone other major initiatives undertaken by his predecessor, such as ending border wall construction, shutting down the Remain in Mexico program, and ending the COVID-era Title 42 health order that quickly expelled migrants. An analysis by the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) indicated that deportations of criminal migrants, in particular, had dropped significantly under the current administration.
“Overall, convicted criminal alien removals have decreased by 74%, completely undercutting the assertion by [Vice President] Kamala Harris that ICE has merely increased its focus on criminal aliens,” the NICE report stated. “In fact, her policies have ensured that most illegal aliens can remain in the country indefinitely — even those who have committed a crime.”
What followed from the Biden-Harris administration’s changes was an unprecedented illegal immigration crisis, with fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024 being the worst years in U.S. history for migrant encounters at the border— and waves of asylum seekers flocking to the country’s metropolitan areas.
Amid major sanctuary cities being forced to roll back services for illegal migrants and polls indicating an American electorate hungry for more hawkish immigration policies, Biden signed an executive order in June that cracked down on illegal border crossings. He signed an additional executive order in September that doubled down on the policy.
While the Biden-Harris administration has taken a right turn on enforcement, the current numbers may pale in comparison to what will take place next year. Trump, who re-enters office in January, has promised to conduct the largest deportation program in American history and also usher in a slate of other hardline measures.
“President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history while simultaneously lowering costs for families,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, like deporting migrant criminals and restoring our economic greatness,” Leavitt continued. “He will deliver.”
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