US deportation policy has deep racial roots. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred Chinese laborers. During the 1930s, local, state and federal officials pushed hundreds of thousands of people of Mexican descent out of the country, including many US citizens.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 greatly expanded the grounds for deportation and created fast-track removal with little or no hearing. Deportation is a civil process, so people have no right to a free lawyer, and many face judges alone.
Enforcement has surged since 2025. ICE reported 442,637 deportations in fiscal 2025, according to DHS data. In March 2025, the administration invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to send Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador, and a federal judge later ruled they were denied due process. Courts remain a central check on removals.