We assumed Ted Hesson was just another paid shill for the Biden administration, and we weren't wrong; he's an immigration reporter for Reuters (based in D.C., of course, not El Paso). Hesson reports that Joe Biden is not deporting more people than Donald Trump did, and he's brought graphics. And the graphics only show that President Barack Obama was the true deporter-in-chief.
Biden is now deporting more people than Trump https://t.co/pBZqyZIn5e pic.twitter.com/PTnZD9uUA2
— Ted Hesson (@tedhesson) July 8, 2024
Hey, look, a Community Note:
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Per ICE data: FY’18-FY’20: 709,227 deportations FY’21-FY’23: 273,768 deportations ice.gov/doclib/eoy/ice…
This article counts “returns” as deportations but those people can go across the border to MX & can try again.
Fox News' Bill Melugin, an actual immigration reporter, clarifies:
No, he’s not. And it’s not close.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 9, 2024
FY’18-FY’20: 709,227 deportations
FY’21-FY’23: 273,768 deportations.
That’s straight from ICE data. This article attempts to count “returns” as deportations. They’re not. They’re bounce back across the border to MX, then they can try again. https://t.co/vpuhM0Tqwh
The small print says, "Note: CBP numbers include returns, which do not require a formal court order and can be voluntary."
Straight from the ICE FY 2023 report.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 9, 2024
Read it here. https://t.co/TnNVzRb7sv pic.twitter.com/QY159HStPZ
Way more coming in and way fewer being deported under Biden. You do the math.
— First Words (@unscriptedmike) July 9, 2024
For those confused....deporting is returning to their country of origin. Which is important when a huge proportion of illegals now come from China, Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe.
— Common Sensei (@Dadto7Tech) July 9, 2024
The vast majority of bounce backs are NOT from Mexico.
They just try again and again and again
Recommended
Didn't Obama also include those to juice his numbers?
— AdamInHTownTX (Not a Neurologist) (@AdamInHTownTX) July 9, 2024
Thanks for fact-checking this, Bill. Good info. Voluntary returns are not the same as deportations (removals).
— Findlater (@Findlater09) July 9, 2024
*Even if* that headline was true, it completely ignores any denominator of the sheer volume of illegal border crossings.
— Mark Bednar (@MarkBednar) July 9, 2024
Even if the numbers were true, what percentage of illegal immigrants allowed into the country has Biden deported? We've lost count of how many he's let in, but we most often see numbers between 8 and 11 million. In three years.
Even if it was accurate…he’s three years too late.
— Kevin Elston (@KevinElston) July 9, 2024
But a Reuters meme said so! These clowns are unbelievable.
— 🇺🇸🇮🇹 Coach Crash JM (@Coach_Crash) July 9, 2024
Any feeble attempts to stem the flow at the border now are only for show before the election. Besides, they've already allowed enough illegal "voters" in to impact the election in their favor.
— Abby (@AbbySteele48) July 9, 2024
The rhetoric from each of them speaks for itself. Trump wanted a wall and did his best to build it and Biden began tearing it down on day one. Now democrats want to claim they’re deporting more than Trump? Give me a break.
— FlyingFish4 (@KBSN4433) July 9, 2024
I don’t know where Hesson is getting this. The current civil immigration enforcement priorities in place by Biden prevent 75% of admin removals from taking place. I know personally that under this admin we have not removed as many as claimed.
— Gage (@Gage10285) July 9, 2024
Some defend Hesson by saying that by saying "Biden is now deporting more people than Trump," they mean Biden "is exceeding Trump's rate now." Even if that's true, it's a bit late. Hesson adds:
During Biden’s term, the number of people apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border has reached record highs.
Biden’s administration for several years used a Trump-era border expulsion policy, known as Title 42, to quickly send many migrants back to Mexico. The public health measure, put in place in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed to minimize the time migrants spent in custody and allowed border agents to rapidly expel them to Mexico without a chance to seek asylum.
Border agents expelled migrants 2.8 million times under Title 42. The vast majority of those expulsions happened under Biden, who took office in January 2021, until he lifted the measure in May 2023 when the COVID emergency ended.
And he lifted all of Trump's other measures on the first day of his administration.
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