Last Updated on February 21, 2025
President Donald Trump is trying to surpass Dwight Eisenhower’s deportation numbers as he oversees a wide-ranging federal government operation to round up and kick out the many millions of illegal immigrants who are currently in the United States. Trump is gaining momentum in his deportation efforts, but can he fulfill his goal of topping Eisenhower?
During his speech at a gathering of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), President Trump highlighted the fact that the deportation operation currently underway is the largest in American history, surpassing even the one carried out by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. President Trump acknowledged Eisenhower’s strong stance on preventing mass influxes of people into the country and expressed discomfort with holding the current record for deportations.
President Trump also compared his deportation program to Eisenhower’s at a recent Turning Point USA event.
Although Dwight Eisenhower is not widely recognized for his deportation efforts due to conflicting reports on the numbers, it is said that Barack Obama holds the record for the most total deportations by a president. The Obama administration deported over 2.5 million individuals across two terms while also allowing a significant number of illegal immigrants to remain in the country. In contrast, President Trump deported around 1.5 million immigrants in his first term.
Dwight Eisenhower’s noteworthy “Operation Wetback” in 1954 remains the benchmark that President Trump aims to surpass. The operation, launched in June 1954, targeted Mexican migrants and instilled fear among illegal immigrants in states like Texas, California, and Arizona for several months.
So how many folks did Dwight Eisenhower deport in that magical several-month span? On the topic of Operation Wetback, MSNBC wrote:
Nonetheless the government claimed over 1.3 million people had been deported and that the monthslong operation was a “success,” saying “the so-called ‘wetback’ problem no longer exists” and that “the border has been secured.” But historians say the number of people who were actually deported was more like 300,000 — a fraction of the 1.3 million the government claimed — which included an unknown number of American citizens.
President Trump has his work cut out for him to catch up to Dwight. According to Grok:
According to statements from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released around February 4, 2025, approximately 5,693 illegal immigrants were deported or removed to 121 countries in the first two weeks of the administration, spanning from Inauguration Day (January 20, 2025) to February 3, 2025. This figure comes from a DHS announcement highlighting the initial efforts of Trump’s immigration enforcement push. Further details indicate that by mid-February 2025, the administration’s deportation activities continued, though exact totals beyond the initial two-week period are less clear due to varying reports and the evolving nature of the operations. For instance, posts on X and some news sources suggest that over 5,000 immigrants were removed by early February, with specific claims of 1,300 deportations cited in late January, including over 1,000 criminals. However, these numbers are not consistently detailed across all sources, and comprehensive, official tallies from ICE or DHS up to February 20, 2025, are not fully consolidated in the available data. Given the current date of February 20, 2025, and the administration’s stated pace—averaging around 400 deportations per day in late January according to The Washington Post—it’s reasonable to estimate that the total could be approaching or exceeding 10,000 deportations by now, assuming a sustained effort. However, this is an extrapolation based on early trends, as ICE statistics reported a dip to about 325 arrests per day in early February, suggesting fluctuations in operational capacity and focus. For a precise figure, the latest concrete number is the 5,693 deportations reported through February 3, 2025.
President Trump has a lot of time left in his presidency to set deportation records. It’s certainly comforting to know that he wants to cement his place in history. President Trump is a very competitive man.
