Trump admin ICE arrests, deportations hit 900,000

Deportation flights reached a peak in May with nearly 300 planes full of illegal immigrants getting deported, as the Trump administration has now arrested and deported 900,000 people since he assumed office.

Close to 300 ICE removal flights left the country last month, which is more than twice the 126 flights recorded during Trump's first full month in office, according to Human Rights First.

Roughly 900,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested by ICE and removed since Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025, per the Washington Examiner. Since Trump came into office, there have been about 3,000 chartered deportation flights.

Over the past eighteen months, DHS and ICE have expanded their capacity to arrest illegal immigrants across the country and increased holding facilities for those awaiting hearings before immigration judges, who have final say on each case. Officials report more than 900,000 have been deported since early 2025.

A DHS spokesperson also noted that 2.2 million people have "self-deported," or voluntarily left the country, beyond the 900,000 removed by the government.

The removal phase began accelerating last spring, dipped when ICE resources were redirected to Minnesota, and has since rebounded. Beyond the volume of monthly flights, ICE is also expanding where the planes are sent, with the majority being flown to South and Central America.

Central America has consistently been the primary destination for removal flights each month since Trump took office, representing between 40 and 60 percent of all departures.

During the Biden administration, there were only around 100 to 200 deportation flights taking place each month.