The Lived Truth Behind Trump’s Deportation Numbers
Statistics tell one story. Trauma, terror, and communities torn apart tell a more complete one.
DO WE BELIEVE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S funny numbers on deportations, or our own eyes?
It’s not just some rhetorical question. What qualifies as a measure of success on this front is one of the most significant arguments happening right now in politics. It could help determine how far Donald Trump goes and what legacy he will ultimately leave when it comes to his defining domestic policy pursuit.
To hear the White House tell it, the numbers are legit and they tell a story about a deportation machine ramping up.
ICE Flight Monitor, a project from the longstanding legal advocacy group Human Rights First, found that while deportation flights were averaging 723 per month from January 20 to April 20, that figure shot up to 1,371 per month from July to September, with September setting a one-month record of 1,464 flights. Those aren’t the only data points: Others include the $45 billion appropriated in the Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” to allow ICE to vastly expand its network of detention facilities and the $30 billion on top of that to expand its workforce and enforcement operations. The number of detainees has ballooned, as has the number of ICE boots on the ground.
But statistics can be misleading. For example, near the end of September, the administration touted that 2 million immigrants had been removed or had self-deported. But it seems there’s a catch: 1.6 million out of that 2 million total—that is, 80 percent of the people DHS claims have left—are purportedly self-deportations.
And statistics don’t always provide the full truth. Because beyond the numbers, there is a Trump deportation regime that people are experiencing in their own lives and seeing with their own eyes.
Just consider what’s been going on in the city of Chicago. Let’s focus on what happened this past Tuesday.