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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>How does deportation work, and how much does it cost? We break it down</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"> <link id="favicon" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/png" href="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAQCAYAAAAf8/9hAAAAAXNSR0IArs4c6QAAAHlJREFUOBFjYBgFFIcA48cYpf/opvAv+YouxODXshZDbFONDSMLSJRv8V245KdYZTD7//8XcDFGRgkwe2O1NVzMv/UomA02AMQCaUQ2CCQG0ohsEEgMphHEBgEmCIWdRNeMTRXYBTBnw2iYQpjTYXx022Hio/RAhwAAjXEfJrIXnj4AAAAASUVORK5CYII="> <style> body { display: block; padding: 0px 20px; max-width: 550px; margin: 0 auto; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; } .full-version-link { margin-left: 15px; } .slug-line { font-size: 1.1rem; margin-bottom: 15px; } .hr-line { position: relative; height: 4px; } .hr-line:after { background: linear-gradient(to right, #e60000 0%, #e60000 33.33%, #000000 33.33%, #000000 66.66%, #3366CC 66.66%); position: absolute; content: ''; height: 4px; right: 0; left: 0; top: 0; } hr.gray { border: .5px solid gray; } .story-title { line-height: 2rem; font-size: 1.5rem; margin: 0; } .topic-heading { line-height: 2rem; font-size: 1.5rem; } .topic-container>ul { padding: 0; line-height: 1.4rem; } .topic-container li { display: block; padding-bottom: 15px; } .topic-container { margin-top: 20px; } .topic-date { margin: 20px 0; font-style: italic; } .paragraphs-container { line-height: 1.5rem; } .button:link, .button:visited { background-color: white; color: black; border: 2px solid black; padding: 4px 8px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; display: inline-block; } .button:hover, .button:active { background-color: black; color: white; } .lower-nav-container { margin-top: 40px; } .lower-nav-container li { margin-left: 0; display: inline; padding-right: 20px; } h6 { text-transform: uppercase; } </style> </head> <body> <header> Text-Only Version <a class="full-version-link button" href="https://www.npr.org/nx-s1-5308051">Go To Full Site</a> </header> <main> <article> <div class="story-container"> <a class="slug-link" href="/">NPR</a> > <a class="slug-link" href="/1070">Law</a> <div class="story-head"> <h1 class="story-title">How does deportation work, and how much does it cost? We break it down</h1> By Ximena Bustillo, Alyson Hurt Monday, April 7, 2025 • 5:00 AM EDT </div> <div class="hr-line"></div> <div class="paragraphs-container"> President Trump kicked off his second term vowing to deport a record number of people from the U.S. But deportation — a cumbersome process generally involving an arrest, detention, a removal order from a judge and finally a flight out of the U.S. — can take months or years."Each of those pieces can be extremely difficult and complicated depending on where someone is, who they are, what types of protection claims they might have, what types of resources the U.S. government has," said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, lawyer and policy analyst with the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.Much like his predecessors, Trump has taken steps to change how law enforcement officials track, find, detain and remove those in the country without legal status. He's also broadened the categories of people eligible for deportation."The sands are shifting underneath our feet," said Eric Welsh, partner at Reeves Immigration Law Group in Los Angeles, which represents individuals and businesses on issues related to immigration status and visas.NPR spoke to immigration experts and lawyers and reviewed government documents to break down the steps of the U.S. deportation process and its cost. This is meant as a general breakdown of the process and not a rule for each individual's circumstances. <hr /><h3>Step 1: Identifying who is removable</h3>In March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement told reporters it had arrested 32,000 people since Trump took office. Those at risk for arrest include people without legal status because they may have entered the country illegally, overstayed a work or student visa, or violated the terms of their green card, <a href="https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/crimes-that-will-make-immigrant-deportable.html" target="_blank">including by committing a crime</a>. <hr> Related Story: <a href="/nx-s1-5339698">NPR</a> <hr>But immigration law experts add that federal law officials do not have to prove someone committed a crime to deport them — as recent examples of revoked student visas show.Trump's latest moves include ending programs that granted legal status to migrants from certain countries. The administration said it would not renew <a href="/2025/01/29/nx-s1-5279219/trump-ends-extension-of-temporary-protected-status-for-hundreds-of-thousands-of-venezuelan-migrants" target="_blank">Haitians and Venezuelans</a>' Temporary Protected Status, a program that grants citizens of certain countries permission to live and work in the U.S. The White House also said it would end a Biden-era humanitarian program that granted two-year permits to live and work in the U.S. to <a href="/2025/03/22/nx-s1-5337214/dhs-revokes-humanitarian-parole-cubans-haitians-nicaraguans-venezuelans" target="_blank">Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans</a> who had fiscal sponsors in the United States.There is pending litigation that has paused plans to end the protections, but if they lapse, once-eligible people who remain in the U.S. would be in the country without legal status and thus eligible for deportation.Former President Joe Biden had a focus on border-region enforcement as <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters" target="_blank">the number of border encounters increased during his tenure</a>. This second Trump administration has <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters" target="_blank">seen a low in border encounters</a> compared to last year and has pivoted its enforcement to the interior of the country. <hr> Related Story: <a href="/nx-s1-5318679">NPR</a> <hr><hr /><h3>Step 2: Arrests</h3>Since taking office, Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have <a href="/2025/03/04/nx-s1-5311686/trump-immigration-task-force" target="_blank">tapped</a> law enforcement in other federal agencies to assist with arrests to meet an aggressive quota pushed by Trump's officials. <hr> Related Story: <a href="/nx-s1-5311686">NPR</a> <hr>In January, ICE officers were assigned a quota of <a href="/2025/03/07/g-s1-52674/trump-detention-families" target="_blank">75 arrests</a> per day for each of the 20 field offices.The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Drug Enforcement Administration are now assisting in investigations and arrests. But those "at-large arrests" — done directly by federal agents — have constituted a minority of all ICE arrests in most years, <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/mpi-interior-enforcement-explainer-feb2025_final.pdf" target="_blank">according to the Migration Policy Institute</a>; <a href="https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2024.pdf" target="_blank">they were just 29% of all arrests</a> in fiscal year 2024. Typically, most arrests come from local law enforcement.Often, that involves the <a href="https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/criminal-alien-program" target="_blank">Criminal Alien Program</a>, which takes people who are in local jails and prisons and transfers them to ICE custody, and a provision known as <a href="https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g" target="_blank">287(g</a>), which allows local police and jails to conduct limited immigration law enforcement.Immigration detention can come at any point from arrest to a final decision in court. The cost can range and DHS also uses government contracts with private prison operators to expand available space. One recent contract is estimated to generate <a href="https://ir.corecivic.com/news-releases/news-release-details/corecivic-announces-resumption-operations-south-texas-family" target="_blank">$180 million in annual revenue for CoreCivic</a>. Alternatives to detention, such as ankle monitors and regular check-ins with ICE, can also be used. <hr> Related Story: <a href="/nx-s1-5318571">NPR</a> <hr>Immigration lawyers explain that sometimes immigrants may ignore a notice to appear, or miss the notice altogether due to filing glitches. But a failure to appear results in a final order of removal.Trump has also sought to skip the court process, relying on programs like "expedited removal," which allows anyone in the country for under two years without legal status to be deported quickly, and the "Alien Enemies Act," which the government has claimed allows it to deport people it deems members of Venezuelan gangs without due process, an assertion under intense legal scrutiny in federal courts.<hr /><h3>Step 3: Immigration court system</h3>Immigration law decisions, including whether someone gets a final removal order, fall under the Executive Office for Immigration Review within the Justice Department. That office had more than <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1344791/dl?inline" target="_blank">4 million</a> pending cases in the last quarter of 2024."People referred to the immigration courts might end up waiting years before they have a hearing determining their case," said Bush-Joseph, from the Migration Policy Institute. "And when someone files for asylum, those cases can actually take even longer because of the complex nature of the claims."If a person is found to be removable by a judge, a judge may find them "removable as charged," which is not a final order of removal but kicks off the rest of the process. The person does not lose their status at this point, if they have it."It's just like any other form of litigation. You can say 'I deny that' and the government has to prove that you are removable," said John Conrace, an immigration attorney in Mississippi. "People who get orders of removal, those are often generated because they are afraid to go to their initial hearing."If they appear in court, people have the right to ask for time to seek legal representation, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1344931/dl?inline" target="_blank">though most people don't have</a> lawyers.Immigration lawyers say they often look for two numbers to prepare for the next step: if the person has been here for less than one year or more than 10. Less than <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/asylum#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20eligible%20for,arrival%20to%20the%20United%20States." target="_blank">one year allows a person to potentially claim asylum</a>. More than 10 can stave off final removal if people can prove there is a relative who will suffer extreme hardship if the person is deported, or if they have a U.S. citizen spouse or children. But this is hard to win — and never grants a pathway to legal status.Those in the country between one and 10 years can try to withhold removal based on other claims, such as risk of persecution or humanitarian relief.The case of <a href="/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5347427/maryland-el-salvador-error" target="_blank">Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia</a> is a good example: the El Salvador immigrant was able to stave off deportation by arguing, in part, <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815.1.0_1.pdf" target="_blank">that it was more likely than not that he would be persecuted by gangs in El Salvador</a>. The government later said it deported him by mistake, prompting a lawsuit and a judge's order to bring him back. <hr> Related Story: <a href="/nx-s1-5352448">NPR</a> <hr><hr /><h3>Step 4: Removal</h3>If people's claims to stave off deportation fail, the judge issues a final order of removal. That's also appealable. People can also choose to "voluntarily depart," which is not a formal deportation and does not reflect on a person's future immigration record.Appeals of removal are filed with the DOJ's Board of Immigration Appeals and could reach circuit courts and then the Supreme Court. <hr> Related Story: <a href="/nx-s1-5343611">NPR</a> <hr>"That takes a wildly varied amount of time. If you are not detained and you are free, it could be years before the BIA gets to resolving the issue that was appealed," Conrace said, adding that it is not common for cases to make it up to the highest court.In fiscal year 2024, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12501" target="_blank">immigration courts issued 666,177</a> initial case decisions, with a plurality being removal orders.As of the last quarter of 2024, there were <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/how-us-asylum-process-works#:~:text=At%20the%20end%20of%20fiscal,at%20the%20southern%20U.S.%20border." target="_blank">1.5 million pending asylum cases in immigration court</a> and <a href="https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2024-07/OIG-24-36-Jul24.pdf" target="_blank">1 million with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration</a> Services."The current pace of work means that it would take a lot more resources, a lot more immigration judges and asylum officers, to be trying to work through these applications at a faster pace than is currently happening," Bush-Joseph said.About 1.4 million people have pending deportation orders, according to ICE, but there are challenges to sending many back to their home countries. One reason is that their home countries have not agreed to accept them.The Biden administration <a href="https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2024.pdf" target="_blank">carried out deportations to 192 countries</a> in the last fiscal year — nearly every country in the world. The Trump administration is aiming to make inroads with others to be "<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-deportations-panama-asylum-aid-groups" target="_blank">third-party countries</a>" that can <a href="/2025/02/05/nx-s1-5287670/trump-el-salvador-americans-prison" target="_blank">take in deportees</a>.Estimates on total cost to deport one person vary depending on where someone is apprehended, how long they are in detention and the length of their legal battle. DHS' budget for <a href="https://www.ice.gov/about-ice#:~:text=The%20agency%20has%20an%20annual,to%20advance%20the%20ICE%20mission." target="_blank">ICE is $8 billion</a>, the Customs and Border Protection budget <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/2024_0314_us_customs_and_border_protection.pdf" target="_blank">is $20 billion</a> and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services budget, which is covered by the fees people pay to apply for citizenship and other benefits, <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/U.S.%20CITIZENSHIP%20AND%20IMMIGRATION%20SERVICES_Remediated.pdf" target="_blank">is $865 million</a>. Not all this money goes to immigration law enforcement. <hr> Related Story: <a href="/g-s1-57850">NPR</a> <hr>"Overall, the U.S. immigration system remains extremely overwhelmed, under-resourced and outdated," Bush-Joseph said. "It's going to take congressional action to really update and reform the system and bring it into the 21st century to meet modern migration challenges."That reform, though, has proved a challenge — decades of reform efforts have died in Congress. A promising bipartisan effort came together early last year after months of careful negotiation, but fell apart less than a day after it was made public — <a href="/2024/02/06/1229602743/how-the-republican-support-for-the-border-bill-evaporated" target="_blank">as then-candidate Trump pressured Republicans to oppose</a> the deal in order to keep border security alive as an issue in the presidential election.Now, the administration is hoping that Congress can provide <a href="/2025/03/04/nx-s1-5311686/trump-immigration-task-force" target="_blank">$175 billion for border</a> security in the budget reconciliation process later this year. <hr> <h3>Transcript</h3> ASMA KHALID, HOST: President Trump has made deportation a top priority of his administration, delivering on a promise he made on the campaign trail.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.KHALID: During this campaign speech, Trump railed against immigrants who come to the United States illegally, whom he described as criminals and gang members.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)TRUMP: We will not be occupied. We will not be overrun. We will not be conquered.KHALID: In March, the administration went further and invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II - this time, to target alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang.UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Why are we under arrest?UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER #1: So turn around.UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER #2: Keep your hands so I can see them.UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER #1: Turn around. Turn around. Turn around.KHALID: The same month, federal immigration agents also began arresting people involved with pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. One of them was Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student and green card holder. His wife, Noor Abdalla, filmed his arrest as agents who refused to give their names handcuffed him and put him in an unmarked car.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)NOOR ABDALLA: Yeah, they just, like, handcuffed him and took him. I don't know what to do (crying).KHALID: Abdalla told NPR it took 38 hours for her to find out where her husband had been sent.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)ABDALLA: I think that's probably the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me.KHALID: Deportation in the United States usually involves a long, complicated process. But as the Trump administration expands the number and scope of deportations, immigrant rights advocates are raising worries about due process and First Amendment rights. We're going to unpack the process of deportation now to understand it a bit better and discuss what it looks like in practice, with NPR's Ximena Bustillo. She covers immigration policy for the network. Hey there.XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Hi, Asma.KHALID: So you have been reporting on immigration for the last several months, and you've boiled down this deportation process into a number of different steps to help us understand how - I would say - a somewhat wonky process works. So what did you find?BUSTILLO: I've identified this process down to five steps...KHALID: OK.BUSTILLO: ...Being identified as deportable, being arrested, going through immigration court, receiving a final order of removal and ultimate removal. Keep in mind that process is individualized to each case and who, what, when, where, how?KHALID: OK.BUSTILLO: So when it's identified (ph), it can drag on for years or be very quick.KHALID: Got it. So let's start with the first step you just mentioned. What does it mean to be identified as deportable?BUSTILLO: Those at risk for arrest primarily include people without legal status because they may have entered the country illegally, overstayed a work or student visa or violated the terms of their green card, including by committing a crime. But the government doesn't have to prove that you committed a crime to see you as removable. A good example of this could be those without work authorization. There's about 8 million in this country.KHALID: So Ximena, once someone is identified, then how does the government find them?BUSTILLO: Homeland Security investigations are expensive and time-consuming. So they often rely on local law enforcement to report that they have arrested or identified someone without legal status. Then there's also what are called, quote, "at large" arrests. These are arrests conducted by ICE out in the field.KHALID: OK, so Ximena, from there, you enter into a court system. And I want you to help us understand how immigration courts differ than other courts in our American legal system.BUSTILLO: So to start, they're not in the judicial branch, like all other courts in our legal system. They're housed within the executive under the Department of Justice. And those arrested do not get the right to a lawyer, but they can ask to find one. And they do get the chance to make their defense. During this setting, there's also an attorney on behalf of ICE who argues in favor of removal. And then, this is where things get more complicated. Immigration courts are currently backlogged about 4 million cases...KHALID: Oh, wow.BUSTILLO: ...And people are being arrested faster than the courts can process their cases.KHALID: I have a question here, though, Ximena. I mean, it seems like this court process you are describing is not actually what we have seen unfold with some of the high-profile cases that we've been hearing about since President Trump took office.BUSTILLO: Right. So that's what a lot of immigration advocates are filing lawsuits over. They say that this court process had been completely sidestepped, as people were put on planes and taken to other countries.KHALID: So how do they do that, though? How can you actually just sidestep the process?BUSTILLO: The Trump administration is trying to use very specific authorities that they get access to to expedite these removals. Some has been the use of the Alien Enemies Act, which specifically allows the administration to bypass the court process, as well as something called expedited removal, which, again, allows you to expedite the removal, skipping the court process.KHALID: I see. OK, so let's get back to the process that you were describing, and I want to ask you about the final two steps. Say you potentially get a final removal order, and then you are removed. How does that actually happen? How does that work?BUSTILLO: So there are roughly three main ways that people are removed, either expedited removal, which I just explained. That also primarily happens at the border, where people are basically taken back across. Then there's voluntary return, which is when someone makes their own travel arrangements. And then there's nonvoluntary, which is when ICE arranges to fly you back. But there are challenges to sending many people back to their home countries. One reason is that their home countries have not agreed to accept them back.One thing I do not specifically list is the step of detention. Some people might be detained from the point that they're arrested all the way until a court decision is made, or they're put on a removal flight. There's also alternatives to detention, such as wearing an ankle monitor or having regular check-ins with the government.KHALID: OK. So, Ximena, what you have described seems like an incredibly lengthy process, perhaps a rather costly process, as well. And yet, it is something that President Trump campaigned on. He promised to bring about the largest deportation in American history. So how is what he promised during the campaign actually unfolding in these first few months?BUSTILLO: There continues to be a big focus on deportations and arrests. But there's still a resource issue. Border czar Tom Homan has been critical of Congress' slower pace in providing DHS with more money or codifying any of Trump's executive orders, especially as immigration policy does come more out of the White House instead of Congress, which is the body that makes laws and provides the funding.KHALID: All right. Well, thank you very much for your reporting.BUSTILLO: Thank you.KHALID: That's NPR's Ximena Bustillo. </div> </div> </article> </main> <div class="hr-line"></div> <nav> Topics <ul> <li><a href="/1001">News</a></li> <li><a href="/1008">Culture</a></li> <li><a href="/1039">Music</a></li> </ul> </nav> <footer> <nav class="lower-nav-container"> <li><a href="/614470770">Contact Us</a></li> <li><a href="/179876898">Terms of Use</a></li> <li><a href="/179881519">Permissions</a></li> <li><a href="/179878450">Privacy Policy</a></li> </nav> &copy NPR </footer> </body> </html>