Mass Deportation: Who Was More 'Inhumane' -- Obama or Trump?

Larry Elder
Wed, 04 Feb 2026 13:23:57 -0800
Opinion

Those who claim President Barack Obama deported illegal aliens more "humanely" make the following assertions: a) ICE didn't go into the streets under Obama; b) there were no street activists/protesters/agitators; c) ICE only deported those with criminal records beyond illegal entry or illegally overstaying; d) Obama's deportation numbers largely include "returns" or those deported at the border; e) the Obama administration did not engage in "lawlessness"; and f) ICE and/or Customs and Border Patrol arrested only illegal aliens after first securing a judicial warrant.

As for a), under Obama, ICE did go into the streets, including into the interior and into "sanctuary" cities like Chicago. Watch "Lost in Detention," a 2011 episode of the PBS "Frontline" program, where, for example, an illegal alien mother stopped in Illinois for making an illegal lane change was ultimately deported back to Mexico.

Consider this X post:
Updated: Thu Feb 05, 2026

Those who claim President Barack Obama deported illegal aliens more "humanely" make the following assertions: a) ICE didn't go into the streets under Obama; b) there were no street activists/protesters/agitators; c) ICE only deported those with criminal records beyond illegal entry or illegally overstaying; d) Obama's deportation numbers largely include "returns" or those deported at the border; e) the Obama administration did not engage in "lawlessness"; and f) ICE and/or Customs and Border Patrol arrested only illegal aliens after first securing a judicial warrant.

As for a), under Obama, ICE did go into the streets, including into the interior and into "sanctuary" cities like Chicago. Watch "Lost in Detention," a 2011 episode of the PBS "Frontline" program, where, for example, an illegal alien mother stopped in Illinois for making an illegal lane change was ultimately deported back to Mexico.

Consider this X post:

"... As someone who worked during (the Obama administration), it's simple. All the 'sanctuary cities,' including mine, cooperated fully with ICE and Homeland... So, this, in fact is politicians' fault because they pick and choose who they want to cooperate with ..."

As for b), the media/Dems loved Obama, so they looked the other way. Again, under Obama, there was greater cooperation between local, state and federal officials. In fact, several cities and states adopted sanctuary policies because of this cooperation. The think tank Niskanen Center writes: "The Secure Communities program allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers for anyone detained by local law enforcement ... Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (in October 2010) stated that DHS 'did not view (Secure Communities) as an opt-in, opt-out program ...

"In response, multiple local jurisdictions, including Cook County, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., passed legislation to limit local compliance with immigration detainers, thus creating sanctuary cities."

There was no "ICE Watch" to alert activists and protesters. And Obama did not inherit an administration that allowed in 10 million to 15 million illegal aliens.

As for c), deporting only those with "criminal records," this is from the "nonpartisan" factcheck.org, in January 2026, about the Trump administration: "... Those with criminal convictions or pending charges represented 66% of arrests, which the administration has rounded up to 70%."

About deportations with criminal records under Obama, in April 2016, The Washington Post wrote:

"While the number of deportations of illegal immigrants with criminal records has declined in recent years, last year this group made up almost 60 percent of the total number expelled from the country, the largest percentage in recent memory ..."

As for d) that Obama deportation numbers mostly included those at the border, the left-leaning fact-check site snopes.com wrote:

"...The claim that immigration authorities deported more than 3 million people during the Obama administration (2009-2017) is accurate based on 'formal removal' figures reported by the DHS. When including 'returns' (those removed at the border), however, the total exceeds 5 million."

As for e), Trump's supposed lawless deportations, economist John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center wrote:

"The 170 ICE-detained US citizens ... included about 130 arrested for interfering with or assaulting officers ... justifiable under any reading of the law ...

"Only about 40 or so of those who were detained claimed to be US citizens accidentally or erroneously arrested by ICE. ... Most were released in a few hours.

"...40 mistakes out of 595,000 arrests amounts to an error rate of just 0.0067% — roughly one wrongful detention for every 14,925 arrests.

"By contrast (during the Obama administration) ... In fiscal years 2015 and 2016, ICE recorded 263 mistaken arrests, 54 mistaken detentions (book-ins), and four mistaken removals ... about one mistake for every 4,444 arrests ...

"During the course of Obama's two terms, from 2009 to 2017, 56 individuals died in ICE custody. ... 56 deaths translates into a rate of 0.007% — roughly one death for every 14,314 detainees.

"By comparison, the rate last year under Trump was slightly lower: 0.0054%, or one death for every 18,594 detainees.

"... Trump made no erroneous deportations through November."

This brings us to f) about judicial warrants. Snopes.com wrote: "Over the eight-year period of the Obama administration, the percentage of removals carried out without a hearing before an immigration judge ranged from approximately 58% to 84%, averaging roughly 74%."

What a difference an administration makes. Or rather, what a difference the media coverage of an administration makes.