Trump aims to deport 1 million migrants annually - WP

According to four current and former federal officials familiar with the plans, White House adviser Stephen Miller is coordinating daily with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to implement the initiative to deport 1 million migrants per year.

One method to rapidly increase deportations involves removing part of the 1.4 million individuals who already have final deportation orders but remain in the US because their countries of origin refuse to take them back.

Additionally, the Trump administration is negotiating with nearly 30 so-called "third countries" to accept immigrants who are not their citizens. In a recent court filing, the government expressed its intent to send “thousands” of people to such countries.

While previous administrations have also attempted to deport people to third countries, the current approach is the most extensive in the history of domestic deportation operations. Deportations have already occurred to Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and even Rwanda after lengthy negotiations with human rights advocates.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai did not comment on the government’s target, but in an email to The Washington Post, he stated that the administration has a voter mandate to reverse the immigration policies of former President Joe Biden. He emphasized that the president's team is "aligned on delivering on this mandate, not on arbitrary goals, with a full-of-government approach to ensure the efficient mass deportation of terrorist and criminal illegal aliens.”

During the election campaign, Trump promised to deport “millions” of immigrants, while Vice President J.D. Vance said the administration could start with 1 million. However, most of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US are entitled to court hearings, including some with criminal backgrounds - a process that can take years due to a backlog of cases.

The administration continues to draw attention, including through the mass transfer of hundreds of detainees to prisons in El Salvador and the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, these efforts affect only a small fraction of undocumented migrants. Former officials point to financial and legal difficulties and low morale among immigration officers, who are stretched thin and doubt the feasibility of the goal.

“They say it jokingly: ‘We’ve got to get a million removals,’” one former federal official said of the officers carrying out the White House’s directives. “That’s their goal.”

Complicated procedures

Such ambitious plans raise concerns among experts due to limited funding, staffing shortages, and legal barriers - most immigrants are entitled to court proceedings before deportation.

Even among the 1.4 million with final deportation orders, many are hard to locate, despite the involvement of agencies like the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and others in the interagency operation.

The government has urged Congress to approve a budget for expanded immigration enforcement. However, even if passed, it would still require hiring new personnel, contracting detention centers, and organizing charter flights. “That is not just a switch you can turn on,” said Doris Meissner, a former immigration commissioner and senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington. “The deportation process is time-consuming.”

Official deportation statistics are unclear, as the administration stopped publishing reports from the DHS Statistics Division. The available data is provided by political appointees and lacks detailed breakdowns.

According to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, over 100,000 individuals were deported from the US by the end of March, though she clarified that this number includes both internal arrests and border apprehensions. An additional 17,000 deportations were later added to this total.

“This is just the beginning,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “These deportations don’t even include the number of illegal aliens who have self-deported.”

A key obstacle to reaching the 1 million mark is a sharp decline in illegal border crossings. In March, just over 7,000 cases were recorded - the lowest in decades.

A preliminary analysis shows that while arrests within the US have increased, the pace of deportations remains low. In the 2025 fiscal year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expected to arrest about 240,000 people but deport only around 212,000 - fewer than the 271,484 deportations last year, most of which followed border apprehensions.

The number of deportation flights rose modestly – from 100 in January to 134 in March (a 15% increase compared to the previous six-month average). However, experts say reaching 1 million would require a “massive surge” and currently seems unrealistic.

Deportation under diplomatic guarantees

The issue of deportation to third countries has raised concerns among human rights advocates and judges. For example, in March, a Salvadoran national was unlawfully deported to a local prison despite a valid court injunction.

Federal courts in Texas and New York have blocked the use of the military code to forcibly deport suspected Venezuelan gang members without hearings. A court in Boston temporarily prohibited deportations to countries where the individual does not hold citizenship without the opportunity to seek humanitarian protection.

Following this, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem issued an order requiring that before deporting someone to a third country, officials must obtain diplomatic assurances that the person will not face persecution or torture. If no such guarantees exist, the individual must be informed of the upcoming deportation and given a chance to appeal.

If an immigrant expresses fear of returning, they must be referred to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a screening, which should occur within 24 hours and may be conducted remotely.

Lawyers emphasize that 24 hours is far too short to adequately defend one’s rights in such cases. According to Noem’s directive, if a person cannot prove a high likelihood of torture upon return, they will be deported. If the evidence is compelling, their case may be referred to an immigration court or to ICE. Alternatively, ICE may choose a different country for deportation.

The report also noted that the highest number of deportations from the US in the past reached over 400,000 people annually during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Trump administration's immigration policy

President Donald Trump and his team are pursuing a hardline policy to expel migrants from the country - both undocumented individuals and those legally present under certain protections.

The first deportation flights took place at the end of January, primarily to Latin American countries.

Under a US Supreme Court ruling, individuals informed of deportation are allowed to present their case in court before removal.

However, after a court decision, migrants must leave the US or else face a $1,000 daily fine.

In addition, Trump’s administration is prepared to revoke the humanitarian status of migrants from Afghanistan and other countries who are in the US due to threats of violence in their home countries.