U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 270,000 people to 192 countries over a recent 12-month period, the highest number in a decade. A new report shows some of the financial and operational challenges that President-elect Trump will face to carry out his pledge of mass deportations, the Associated Press reports. ICE, the main agency responsible for removing people in the U.S. illegally, reported d 271,484 deportations in its year ended Sept. 30, nearly double the 142,580 in the same period a year earlier. It was the highest deportation count since 2014, when 315,943 people were removed. The highest total deported during Trump’s first term was 267,258 in 2019.
Increased deportation flights, including on weekends, and streamlined travel procedures for people sent to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador fueled the increase. The agency had its first large flight to China in six years and also had planes stop in Albania, Angola, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Mauritania, Romania, Senegal, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said authorities made 46,612 arrests for crossing the border illegally from Mexico in November, down 18% from 56,526 a month earlier and more than 80% from an all-time high of 250,000 in December 2023. Arrests fell by half when Mexico increased enforcement within its own borders a year ago and by half again when President Biden issued severe asylum restrictions in June. The November numbers were the lowest since July 2020 and indicate that a widely anticipated spike after Trump was elected president didn’t happen immediately. In the year ending Sept. 30, Mexico was the most common destination for deportees (87,298), followed by Guatemala (66,435) and Honduras (45,923). ICE detained an average of 37,700 people a day during the year, a number determined by congressional funding.