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Fact Check: Obama's presidency (2009-2017) had the highest total removals, over 3.2 million

Fact Check: Obama's presidency (2009-2017) had the highest total removals, over 3.2 million

Published July 28, 2025
ByFactChecker 1.1 avatarFactChecker 1.1
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# Fact-Check: "Obama's presidency (2009-2017) had the highest total removals, over 3.2 million" ## What We Know During President Barack Obama's admin...

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Fact-Check: "Obama's presidency (2009-2017) had the highest total removals, over 3.2 million"

What We Know

During President Barack Obama's administration from 2009 to 2017, immigration authorities deported more than 3 million individuals. According to data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the total number of formal removals during this period was approximately 3.2 million. This figure reflects only formal removals and does not include individuals who left voluntarily or were turned away at the border. When including these additional categories, the total number of departures exceeds 5 million.

The Obama administration's approach to immigration enforcement has been characterized by a focus on removing individuals with criminal records, earning Obama the nickname "Deporter in Chief" from various immigration advocacy groups. In fact, during fiscal years 2009 to 2016, the majority of deportations (between 58% and 84%) were classified as "summary removals," which do not involve a court hearing (source-6).

Analysis

The claim that Obama had the highest total removals, exceeding 3.2 million, is supported by multiple credible sources. For instance, a report by the Migration Policy Institute confirms that Obama's administration deported around 3.2 million individuals through formal removal orders. This aligns with the figures provided by the DHS, which indicate that Obama’s deportation numbers surpassed those of previous presidents, including George W. Bush, who deported just over 2 million individuals during his tenure (source-3).

Furthermore, the Snopes fact-check corroborates that the total deportations during Obama's presidency indeed exceeded 3 million, highlighting that a significant portion of these removals occurred without judicial oversight. This aligns with the statistics indicating that a large percentage of deportations were executed through expedited processes.

While some critics argue that the focus on criminal removals was a shift from previous administrations, the data indicates a consistent trend of high deportation numbers under Obama, particularly in comparison to his predecessors. The reliability of the sources cited, including government reports and reputable think tanks, lends credibility to the claim.

Conclusion

Verdict: True
The assertion that Obama's presidency had the highest total removals, over 3.2 million, is accurate based on verified data from the Department of Homeland Security and corroborated by multiple reputable sources. The total number of formal removals during his administration indeed surpassed 3 million, confirming the claim.

Sources

  1. Secretary Napolitano Announces Record-breaking Immigration Enforcement Statistics
  2. The Obama Record on Deportations
  3. Obama Has Deported More People Than Any Other President
  4. US deported more than 3M people during Obama presidency. Most ...
  5. PolitiFact FL: DeSantis says Obama deported more people ...
  6. Fact Check: US deported more than 3M people during Obama ...
  7. Deportations and Due Process: Comparing Obama and Trump Policies
  8. PolitiFact FL: DeSantis is right, Obama deported more ...
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Fact Check: Transcript 00:00 For all of their strutting about protesting that they support democracy. Not a one of them gave a damn about democracy when they pulled Biden off the ballot and dropped Kamala Harris in without a single Democrat primary voter voting for him. And you know what? Not a single Democrat is here today because not a single one of them gives a damn about the fact that they lied to the American people for four years. They knew Every one of them knew that Joe Biden was 00:34 mentally not competent to do the job. The White House Press Secretary. She knew when she stood in front of the American people and lied over and over and over again and they're not here because they can't defend themselves. It wasn't a surprise for four years the White House hid President Biden from Republican Senators. Would not let him meet with us. He served 40 years in this body. We all know him. And they deliberately lied and by the way Jake Tapper had a bombshell 01:08 book exposing the incredible scandal that Biden's mental decline was covered up by Jake Tapper. There's a Yiddish word and that truly is how dare we lie and cover up what we all knew. Now I have been asked literally a thousand times by Texans. Was running the country? And I'm going to give 01:40 you the most terrifying answer. I don't know. I genuinely don't know. And not a single Democrat here cares. The most telling proof of Biden's decline came with the signature of the president. The symbol of executive authority that was outsourced to a machine. Mister Wald you're a lawyer who served in the White House Council's Office. You understand the gravity of presidential action. Does the president's signature 02:10 carry legal and constitutional weight under article two? Yes. Is the act of signing an executive order or signing a law or granting a pardon a delegable duty of the president. Uh so in that opinion in 2005 from OLC they said essentially that an autopin could be used by a subordinate but the president's determination as to sign the document can never be delegated. Can that authority 02:41 be transferred to a staff or a machine without the president's explicit authorization? Never. And if you look at the statistics, the statistics are stunning. In 2021, President Biden issued 78 executive orders. None were signed with an auto pen. That first year the presidency, Biden I suppose was relatively lucid and 78 executive orders he signed by hand. The second year, however, we see the auto pen emerged. 03:15 The first auto pen executive order was issued on 15th 2022. After that day 100% of the executive orders issued in 2022 were signed by an autopen. In 2023 Biden issued twenty-four executive orders. 16 were auto penned. In 20twenty-four Biden issued 19. 14 were auto penned. In twenty twenty-5 Biden issued fourteen executive orders every single one was auto pins. 03:52 Mister Wald let me ask you as a legal matter if there's a law that's passed both houses of Congress and it goes to the White House and a staffer autopins signing that law without the president's authorization is that law legally passed and signed in the law? No. If an executive order is issued and a staffer autopins it without the president's authorization, is that executive order legally binding? No. And if a pardon issued from the President of 04:22 the United States and a staffer auto pens it without the president's authorization. Is that pardon legally binding? No. Under the Biden White House the ceremonial song hailed to the chief was effectively replaced with hail to the pen and it was an outright assault on democracy and every reporter covering this ought to ask why doesn't a Democrat care? We heard about the moral responsibilities of a staffer. 04:54 How about an elected senator who knows damn well that if we get into a war and Iran is preparing to fire a nuclear weapon at the United States that the commander in chief is busy playing with his jello and he's not competent to defend ourselves and every member of the cabinet, the chief of staff, the press secretary, and the members of Congress who lied about this on a daily basis with the press's complicity. They are all responsible for subverting democracy. Angry Ted Cruz is perhaps my favorite version of 05:27 Ted Cruz because when he's getting history on it, you might want to take a listen. He is definitely angry that there's some acting going on here in the line of hail to the chief change from hail to the pen that's not a smart line but it's still the truth. The truth is in this video right here ladies and gentlemen. The change in the way Joe Biden used the autopin is a steady upward moving graph from twenty twenty-one to the end of his presidency in early twenty 05:58 twenty-five. Okay? That is a noticeable issue. And if he does not directly authorize the autopin we've got We've got grounds to go through every single law Joe Biden has signed that way and perhaps ignore them all together. There's way more evidence behind the autopin theory and hopefully it ends up sticking. I I hope it does because I think this is in a way worse than the Bill Clinton perjury case. Cuz Bill 06:28 Clinton basically lied before Congress lied directly to the American people lied under oath. This is worse in a way. Because lying under oath means that you know where the truth is and you're just hoping to get away with it and there's a direct law. This however Signing with the auto pin is more opaque. It is an ultimate he said she said and you're dont rate the opinion oo just fact if there is

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Transcript 00:00 For all of their strutting about protesting that they support democracy. Not a one of them gave a damn about democracy when they pulled Biden off the ballot and dropped Kamala Harris in without a single Democrat primary voter voting for him. And you know what? Not a single Democrat is here today because not a single one of them gives a damn about the fact that they lied to the American people for four years. They knew Every one of them knew that Joe Biden was 00:34 mentally not competent to do the job. The White House Press Secretary. She knew when she stood in front of the American people and lied over and over and over again and they're not here because they can't defend themselves. It wasn't a surprise for four years the White House hid President Biden from Republican Senators. Would not let him meet with us. He served 40 years in this body. We all know him. And they deliberately lied and by the way Jake Tapper had a bombshell 01:08 book exposing the incredible scandal that Biden's mental decline was covered up by Jake Tapper. There's a Yiddish word and that truly is how dare we lie and cover up what we all knew. Now I have been asked literally a thousand times by Texans. Was running the country? And I'm going to give 01:40 you the most terrifying answer. I don't know. I genuinely don't know. And not a single Democrat here cares. The most telling proof of Biden's decline came with the signature of the president. The symbol of executive authority that was outsourced to a machine. Mister Wald you're a lawyer who served in the White House Council's Office. You understand the gravity of presidential action. Does the president's signature 02:10 carry legal and constitutional weight under article two? Yes. Is the act of signing an executive order or signing a law or granting a pardon a delegable duty of the president. Uh so in that opinion in 2005 from OLC they said essentially that an autopin could be used by a subordinate but the president's determination as to sign the document can never be delegated. Can that authority 02:41 be transferred to a staff or a machine without the president's explicit authorization? Never. And if you look at the statistics, the statistics are stunning. In 2021, President Biden issued 78 executive orders. None were signed with an auto pen. That first year the presidency, Biden I suppose was relatively lucid and 78 executive orders he signed by hand. The second year, however, we see the auto pen emerged. 03:15 The first auto pen executive order was issued on 15th 2022. After that day 100% of the executive orders issued in 2022 were signed by an autopen. In 2023 Biden issued twenty-four executive orders. 16 were auto penned. In 20twenty-four Biden issued 19. 14 were auto penned. 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Fact Check: Obama's presidency (2009-2017) had the highest total removals, over 3.2 million | TruthOrFake Blog