Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently made a bold statement regarding his stance on immigration. During a campaign event in California, DeSantis declared that if he were elected president, he would prioritize the mass deportation of migrants who entered the U.S. illegally under President Joe Biden. According to DeSantis, this would amount to around 6 or 7 million people.
However, it seems that DeSantis is misrepresenting the data when it comes to the number of migrants who have entered and remain in the country. He is conflating the number of times border patrol agents have encountered migrants at the border with the actual number of migrants in the U.S. This is a mistake that has been made by other Republican presidential candidates in the past as well.
When approached for comment, DeSantis’ campaign referred to his immigration policy, which includes plans to hire more border patrol and removal agents, and empower ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers to enforce immigration laws.
Customs and Border Protection data reveals that the figures cited by DeSantis align closely with the number of migrant encounters at and between ports of entry nationwide since Biden’s inauguration. However, it’s important to note that these figures do not indicate how many migrants are still in the country.
From February 2021 to August 2023, there have been approximately 7.2 million encounters across all points of entry. It’s worth mentioning that encounter data does not reflect the number of individual immigrants stopped. For example, if one person attempts to cross the border multiple times and is stopped each time, it would be counted as multiple encounters.
Furthermore, the expulsion of migrants is not taken into account in the encounter data. Many encounters result in immediate expulsions under Title 42, a policy implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to swiftly remove migrants who crossed the southwestern border. Additionally, Customs and Border Protection data shows that around 591,000 removals were initiated by border authorities during Biden’s presidency.
It’s important to highlight that there is no available data regarding the number of migrants who have been allowed to remain in the country after entering.
DeSantis is not the only Republican candidate to promise mass deportations. Former President Donald Trump also made a similar pledge during his tenure, which was ultimately labeled as a Promise Broken by fact-checkers.
Experts argue that carrying out mass deportations is easier said than done. Mario Russell, the executive director at the Center for Migration Studies, emphasizes that deporting millions of people summarily is an implausible and fantastical idea that is often brought up for political purposes. Practical challenges include the need for significant increases in enforcement resources and court expenditures.
In conclusion, while DeSantis claimed that 6 or 7 million people have come illegally into the U.S. under Biden, his estimate fails to accurately represent the data. The encounter figures cited by DeSantis do not reflect the number of migrants who have entered and stayed in the country. Customs and Border Protection data does show that millions of encounters have led to removals. However, it is crucial to consider the critical facts excluded from DeSantis’ statement. Therefore, his claim is rated as Mostly False.
