Newsweek, S.F. Chronicle Quote Professor Johnson on Gap Between Trump Deportation Vows and Data

Professor Kevin R. Johnson talked to Newsweek and to the San Francisco Chronicle about whether the numbers of people who have been arrested, detained and deported since President Donald Trump began his second term are on pace with his promises of mass deportations.

Newsweek reported on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s March 18 announcement that just over 28,000 deportations were carried out in the first seven weeks of the Trump administration. These numbers were offered after several weeks without updates, after Trump officials ended ICE’s more regular updates during President Joe Biden’s tenure.

When including border removals, Newsweek notes, the numbers under Trump appear to be lower than they were under Biden – a gap that could factor in the Trump administration’s relative reticence.

"The administration quickly releases data when it is pleased with the data," Johnson told Newsweek. "President Trump had expressed concern with what he sees as low removal numbers. Border Czar Tom Homan has expressed similar concerns. My instinct is that the numbers are not pleasing to the administration, and it is limiting access to the numbers."

On March 4, the Chronicle reported that the number of people arrested and detained by federal immigration officers had risen slightly in the first days of Trump’s second term. But the numbers lagged behind the pace necessary to match Trump’s vow to deport 11 million people.

Johnson told the newspaper that the data showed how unrealistic Trump’s promises are.

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama had acknowledged that removing all undocumented immigrants would be impossible, Johnson noted. Now, “the Trump administration is experiencing the challenges of identifying and apprehending all undocumented immigrants.”

Kevin R. Johnson is a distinguished professor of law, Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law, and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law. Johnson also has an appointment as professor of Chicana/o studies at UC Davis. He served as dean of UC Davis Law from 2008 to 2024. Johnson is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.