Deportation from the United States

Deportation from the United States is the process of expelling foreigners. Deportation distinguishes between two primary models: "extended border control", which involves expelling foreigners for violations related to their admission, and "post-entry social control", which targets individuals for conduct, such as criminal activity, that occurs after admission to the country. Between 1920 and 2018, the U.S. expelled nearly 57 million people, more than any other country in the world, and more than it allowed to immigrate legally.

Deportation 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 law enforcement coerces or incentivizes apprehended individuals into leaving the country. Self-deportation occurs when migrants leave on their own accord, although this is often influenced by fear, intimidation, and law enforcement activity that makes it difficult to remain.

Federal deportation policy developed from early colonial practices, the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts, and the late 19th-century anti-Chinese movement. While deportation historically implicated largely Chinese and European persons, since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Mexicans have accounted for about 90 percent of all deportees. The deportation process has been shaped by a complex interplay of bureaucratic imperatives, profit motives, ethnic prejudice, and political calculations, with impacts for individuals, families, and communities.