Biden era had more Mexican deportees, data show

The Trump administration has launched an unprecedented immigration enforcement operation across the U.S. to deport people there illegally, but data compiled by a Mexican investigative outlet show that deportations of Mexicans were lower last year than in each of the previous four years.

- By STEVE FISHER

FELIX MARQUEZ Associated Press

DEPORTED men cross the border. President Trump has removed fewer Mexicans than his predecessor.

Under the Biden administration, deportations of Mexicans per year reached nearly 300,000. Since President Trump returned to the White House in January last year, the U.S. has deported a little over 144,000 Mexicans to their homeland by the end of 2025, according to Mexican government data.

The analysis by Quinto Elemento Lab, an independent nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in Mexico City, illustrates trends in migration from Mexico to its northern neighbor and highlights the conditions in Mexico driving those trends. Around 90% of those deported were men, the data show.

“The deportation policy that Trump has rolled out does not appear to be as severe as in previous years in numerical terms,” said Efrain Tzuc, data analyst with Quinto Elemento Lab.

But raw numbers do not tell the whole story about Mexican migration. The overall numbers are down, in part, because fewer Mexican migrants are entering the United States after Trump beefed up border security. Fewer successful entries can mean fewer removals.