Deportation and removal from the United States

Deportation from the United States is the process of expelling non-citizens. The authority to deport non-citizens rests on the "plenary power" of the federal government, which gives it near-absolute authority over immigration matters. The legal framework for deportation distinguishes between two primary models: "extended border control", which involves expelling non-citizens for violations related to their entry, and "post-entry social control", which targets individuals for conduct, such as criminal activity, that occurs after they have established residence in the country. Between 1920 and 2018, the U.S. expelled nearly 57 million people, more than any other country in the world, and more people than it allowed to immigrate legally. The legal and political concept of the "illegal alien" is a 20th-century development; the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 created a new class of people subject to expulsion.

The deportation machine, as it has been called, has historically used three primary mechanisms of expulsion: formal deportation (removals), voluntary departure, and self-deportation. Formal deportations, which carry legal penalties for reentry, account for a minority of expulsions. The vast majority have occurred through voluntary departure, an administrative process in which immigration authorities coerce apprehended individuals into leaving the country. Self-deportation occurs when migrants leave due to fear campaigns, intimidation, and the enforcement of laws that make it difficult to remain.

The origins of federal deportation policy are rooted in early colonial practices and later formalized in the late 19th-century anti-Chinese movement. While early targets included Chinese laborers and European political radicals, the history of deportation has become overwhelmingly the history of removing Mexicans, who since the 1970s have accounted for about 90 percent of all deportees. The deportation process has been shaped by a complex interplay of bureaucratic imperatives, profit motives, racial prejudice, and political calculations, and has had profound consequences for individuals, families, and communities.