DHS Repatriations Table: What the FY 2023 Numbers Actually Mean

The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS) published Table 39 in the 2023 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. The table reports DHS repatriations from fiscal years 1892 through 2023.

The short version

For fiscal year 2023, OHSS lists 1,205,990 total repatriations. That headline total includes several different categories, so it should not be read as one single type of immigration case.

The FY 2023 row reports:

• 154,480 administrative returns
• 289,070 enforcement returns
• 183,360 removals
• 579,080 expulsions
• 1,205,990 total repatriations

Why “repatriations” is broader than “deportations”

OHSS uses repatriations as the broadest bucket. It includes removals, returns and expulsions. That matters because a public claim about “deportations” can sound like one legal category when the DHS table is actually mixing several categories.

OHSS says returns are confirmed movements of inadmissible or deportable people out of the United States that are not based on a removal order. Removals are compulsory movements based on an order of removal. Expulsions are listed separately for the period when they applied.

The Title 42 context

The FY 2023 total includes 579,080 expulsions. That category is tied to the Title 42 public health order period. Because of that, FY 2023 should not be compared casually with years that did not include Title 42 expulsions.

For a broader year-by-year breakdown, see ImmigroNews' explainer: US deportations by year: what the DHS data actually shows.

What the table can and cannot tell you

This table is useful background for understanding immigration-enforcement trends. It does not announce a new DHS policy, and it does not tell any one person what will happen in their case.

If you are looking at your own immigration status, a removal order, an ICE check-in, or a pending immigration-court case, use this table only as public background data and speak with a licensed immigration attorney or DOJ-accredited representative for case-specific guidance.

Official source

• OHSS Table 39: DHS Repatriations, Fiscal Years 1892 to 2023

*This article is general immigration information, not legal advice. The summary above is based on the OHSS data table linked in the official source.*