In 2025, the United States reached a historic figure: 353,203 deportations, the highest number in the last 20 years. But behind that record there is a disturbing reality: 98% of those expelled have no criminal record. We are not facing an advance in public security, but rather a population control strategy that confuses immigration irregularity with crime.
The figures speak for themselves: six out of ten cases in immigration courts end with a deportation order. Only 12% obtain any immigration relief such as asylum or cancellation of deportation. And the most alarming thing: only one in four immigrants has legal defense.
The current administration has opted for the so-called “expedited deportation,” a process that is decided in a matter of hours, without judicial review or the possibility of appeal. Its justification is efficiency. However, it is important to be clear about something: speed does not equal justice. When the system prioritizes the number of expulsions over individual analysis, the inevitable result is an increase in procedural errors, families separated, and lives cut short.
Since the beginning of the year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recorded more than two million departures, including self-deportations and forced expulsions. The government projects to close the year with more than 600,000 deportations, double the recent annual average. Even so, it will not reach its official goal of one million. The question is: what are we really measuring as success?
The data show a clear regional pattern: nine out of ten deported people are Latin Americans, especially from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela and Colombia. On the US map, Texas with 84,694 cases; Florida, with 67,499, and California, with 53,743, lead with more than half of the total expulsions, reflecting the relationship between local cooperation with ICE, migrant density and judicial activity. They are followed by New York (34,504), Chicago (32,896) and New Jersey (30,295), where despite sanctuary policies, cases remain at high levels.
From a legal perspective, the United States immigration system faces important challenges related to the accessibility and proportionality of its processes. People seeking a legal route to regularize their status often face extensive procedures, complex requirements and sanctions that can limit their options for long periods. In this context, many families opt for non-formal alternatives, not necessarily due to ignorance or intention to evade the law, but due to the lack of accessible and realistic mechanisms within the current legal framework.
In that sense, a large part of the problems of the immigration system are not only due to legal issues, but also to technical failures and resource limitations that delay or hinder processes.
Current pathways for regularization are overly complex and punitive, leaving many families without a realistic option to adjust their status. Opening more accessible channels could reduce pressure on the courts and help resolve the structural backlog that currently affects millions of pending cases.
Effective immigration reform cannot be based on exclusion, but on the real possibility of integration. It is urgent to open fairer avenues that reduce pressure on the courts and restore a sense of proportionality to the system. Instead of accelerating deportations, we should accelerate solutions.
Hector Quiroga . Immigration lawyer.Quiroga Law Office, PLLC
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