Mexicans Deported by the US 2026
Mexicans deported by the US in 2026 remain the single largest nationality group swept up in America’s ongoing immigration enforcement surge, a pattern that has held steady for years but has accelerated sharply since early 2025. Mexico continues to top every major federal dataset — ICE arrests, ICE detention population, and consolidated removal counts — accounting for roughly 35% of total enforcement actions nationwide, far ahead of any other single country. With ICE carrying out more than 356,000 removals in fiscal year 2026 alone through mid-July, and Mexican nationals making up the largest single share of that total, the scale of this specific enforcement stream now touches hundreds of Mexican towns and states every month.
This report compiles the key verified statistics on Mexicans deported by the US in 2026, sourced from ICE and DHS enforcement data, Mexican government figures released by President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, and independent tracking organizations including TRAC Immigration and the Deportation Data Project. Because deportation figures are reported on different timelines by different agencies — calendar year, fiscal year, and rolling 100-day snapshots — this piece is careful to label each figure with its exact reporting period so the numbers can be compared accurately rather than conflated.
Interesting Facts About Mexicans Deported by the US 2026
| Fact Category | Key Data Point |
|---|---|
| Mexico’s rank among all deportation nationalities (2025) | #1, by a wide margin |
| Mexico’s share of ICE arrests (2025 full-year data) | 35.8% of all arrests (69,364 of ~193,800 top-15 arrests) |
| Mexican deportees, first 100 days of Trump’s second term | More than 33,000 |
| Total deportees to Mexico, first 100 days (all nationalities) | Nearly 39,000 |
| Mexican deportations, full year 2025 | 160,000 |
| Change vs. 2024 | -22.3% (from 206,000 in 2024) |
| Change vs. 2023 | -25.4% (from 215,000 in 2023) |
| Mexico’s share of current ICE detention population | ~35%, approximately 19,931 detainees |
| Migrants found irregularly in Mexico, monthly average (2024) | ~100,000 |
| Migrants found irregularly in Mexico, monthly average (Apr 2025–Jan 2026) | ~5,000 — a 95% drop |
| ICE total removals, FY2026 (through July 11, 2026) | 356,389 |
| ICE daily removal pace, FY2026 | Approximately 1,255–1,600 per day |
| Top Mexican birth state of origin for returnees (Feb 2025–Feb 2026) | Chiapas — 16,196 returns |
| Mexicans killed in ICE custody or enforcement incidents cited by Mexico’s government | 17, prompting criminal legal action |
Source: BBVA Research; Mexican National Institute of Migration; ICE and DHS enforcement data; TRAC Immigration; Deportation Data Project, 2025–2026
The numbers above reveal a pattern that runs somewhat counter to the dominant media narrative of ever-accelerating mass deportation: while overall U.S. enforcement activity has surged dramatically, actual deportations of Mexican nationals fell for a second consecutive year in 2025, dropping to 160,000 from 206,000 the year before. That is not because Mexico has become a lower priority — Mexican nationals still account for the largest single share of ICE arrests and detention by a wide margin — but rather because the number of Mexicans crossing the border irregularly and getting apprehended has itself collapsed, with irregular migrant detections inside Mexico falling 95% between 2024 and the most recent 2026 data.
What stands out most is the disconnect between headline enforcement statistics, which are dominated by intensified interior arrests and record ICE funding, and the specific Mexican deportation trendline, which has been declining even as total nationwide removals climb toward record territory. This is best explained by the sharp drop in new irregular arrivals from Mexico rather than any softening of enforcement toward Mexican nationals already inside the US.
Mexican Deportations by Year: 2020–2026 Trend
MEXICAN DEPORTATIONS FROM THE US — SELECTED YEARS
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
2020 █████████████████████████████████████ 43,896
2021 █████████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 29,543
2022 ██████████████████████████████████░░░ 38,762
2023 ███████████████████████████████████████████████ 215,000*
2024 ███████████████████████████████████████████████ 206,000*
2025 █████████████████████████████████████ 160,000
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
*2023–2024 figures reflect broader Mexican-national deportation totals
(BBVA Research); 2020–2022 figures reflect ICE arrest-specific data (TGS)
| Year | Mexican Deportations | Year-over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 43,896 (ICE arrests) | Baseline — COVID-affected |
| 2021 | 29,543 (ICE arrests) | -33% |
| 2022 | 38,762 (ICE arrests) | +31% |
| 2023 | 215,000 (total deportations) | Record-high era begins |
| 2024 | 206,000 (total deportations) | -4.2% |
| 2025 | 160,000 (total deportations) | -22.3% |
Source: BBVA Research analysis of Mexican National Institute of Migration data; ICE enforcement statistics, 2020–2026
Two different measurement methods are blended into this table intentionally, and it’s worth being upfront about why: the 2020–2022 figures come from year-specific ICE arrest data for Mexican nationals, while the 2023–2025 figures come from Mexico’s own government tally of total deportations received, which is a broader and more complete count. Even accounting for that methodological shift, the downward trend from 2023 through 2025 is consistent and real — Mexican deportations have fallen for two straight years, a genuinely counterintuitive finding given how aggressively total U.S. enforcement activity has expanded over the same period.
The most plausible explanation, backed by the sharp 95% drop in irregular migrant detections inside Mexico, is that fewer Mexican nationals are attempting the crossing in the first place, reducing the pool of people available to be apprehended and deported regardless of how intensified enforcement becomes. This is a meaningfully different dynamic from the deportation trends for other nationalities, where third-country removal agreements and interior enforcement sweeps have kept overall numbers climbing even as border crossings fall.
Mexican Deportations: First 100 Days of the Trump Administration (2025)
| Metric | Data Point |
|---|---|
| Total deportees received by Mexico (all nationalities) | 38,757 |
| Of which, Mexican nationals | 33,311 |
| Of which, foreign nationals via Mexico | 5,446 |
| Mexican-national share of total | ~86% |
| Reporting source | Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum |
| Reporting period | January 20 – ~April 30, 2025 |
| Daily average implied | Approximately 333 Mexican deportees per day |
Source: Statements by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, reported April 30, 2025
The first 100 days of the current U.S. administration produced a highly specific, government-confirmed figure directly from Mexico’s own president: 33,311 Mexican nationals deported and received back into the country, out of 38,757 total deportees processed through Mexico during that window. That 86% share of Mexican nationals among all deportees routed through Mexico underscores just how central this single bilateral relationship is to the broader U.S. deportation apparatus — the vast majority of people the U.S. sends across this particular border are, in fact, Mexican citizens rather than third-country nationals in transit.
President Sheinbaum has been notably transparent about these figures compared to other governments receiving U.S. deportees, releasing regular updates during her morning press conferences and explicitly noting that repatriations to third countries beyond Mexico, such as Honduras, have been handled on a voluntary basis rather than forced transit. This transparency has made Mexico’s deportation data among the most reliable and frequently updated of any receiving country tracked in current immigration reporting.
Mexican State-of-Origin Data for Deportees 2026
| Mexican State | Returns (Feb 2025 – Feb 2026) |
|---|---|
| Chiapas | 16,196 |
| Guanajuato | 14,232 |
| Guerrero | 13,521 |
| Veracruz | 11,680 |
| Oaxaca | 11,322 |
| Michoacán | 10,951 |
| Puebla | 10,284 |
Source: BBVA Research analysis of Mexican National Institute of Migration data, published April 2026
Breaking deportation returns down by Mexican state of birth reveals a geography that closely tracks the country’s historically highest-emigration regions rather than any random distribution. Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state and one of its poorest, tops the list with 16,196 returns over the 12-month tracking window, followed closely by Guanajuato and Guerrero. This pattern is consistent with decades of established migration corridors: these seven states alone account for tens of thousands of returnees and represent regions that have sent migrants northward for generations, meaning deportation flows are, in large part, simply reversing well-worn routes rather than establishing new ones.
The prominence of Guerrero and Michoacán in this list is particularly notable given that both states have experienced significant cartel-related violence and displacement in recent years, raising questions among migration researchers about how many of these returnees may face renewed safety concerns upon arrival — a dynamic that sits somewhat outside the scope of standard deportation statistics but shapes the on-the-ground reality for a meaningful share of this population.
For readers tracking the international side of this enforcement wave, our data on Illegal Border Crossings By Year Statistics in US offers useful context on how sharply overall southwest border apprehensions have fallen since January 2025 — a trend that directly parallels the drop in Mexican-specific deportation numbers documented above.
ICE Detention: Mexican Nationals in Custody 2026
| Detention Metric | Data Point |
|---|---|
| Mexican nationals currently in ICE detention | ~19,931 |
| Mexico’s share of total ICE detention population | ~35% |
| Rank among all nationalities in detention | #1 |
| Total ICE detention population (comparison, mid-2025) | 56,945–57,861 |
| Recent arrest data cited for Mexican nationals | 11,586 arrests in most recent reporting window |
| Detainees nationwide with no criminal conviction | ~71–72% |
| Primary detention states holding Mexican nationals | Texas, Arizona, California |
Source: TRAC Immigration; ICE detention data; Deportation Data Project, mid-to-late 2025
Mexican nationals hold the top spot in ICE’s detention population by a comfortable margin, representing roughly 35% of everyone currently held nationwide — more than double the share of the second-largest group, Guatemala. Given that overall ICE detention numbers reached a historic peak of 56,945 to 57,861 people across mid-2025 reporting periods, that translates to somewhere in the range of 19,900 to 20,300 Mexican nationals in custody at any given time, concentrated heavily in Texas, Arizona, and California facilities positioned closest to the southern border.
What’s especially significant is that this detention pattern holds even though actual deportations of Mexican nationals declined in 2025 — meaning more Mexican nationals are spending time in detention even as fewer are ultimately removed in a given calendar year, likely reflecting a combination of longer average case-processing times, court backlogs, and the sheer scale of interior enforcement sweeps that detain people regardless of whether their removal case resolves quickly.
Mexico’s Rank Among ICE Deportation Nationalities 2026
| Rank | Country | Total Arrests (2025) | Percentage of Top-15 Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 69,364 | 35.8% |
| 2 | Guatemala | 36,104 | 18.6% |
| 3 | Honduras | 27,978 | 14.4% |
| 4 | Ecuador | 22,936 | 11.8% |
| 5 | Colombia | 20,123 | 10.4% |
| 6 | El Salvador | 15,876 | 8.2% |
| 7 | Venezuela | 12,445 | 6.4% |
Source: ICE enforcement statistics compiled by independent immigration data trackers, 2025
Mexico’s position at the very top of this list is not close: with 69,364 arrests, Mexico accounts for nearly double the arrests of the second-place country, Guatemala, and nearly five times the arrests recorded for Colombia in fifth place. This gap reflects both the sheer size of the Mexican-origin population living in the U.S. without legal status — historically the largest of any single nationality by a wide margin — and Mexico’s shared land border, which has made it the logistical hub for repatriation flights and ground transfers of non-Mexican nationals as well.
For a fuller breakdown of how Mexico’s numbers compare against all other nationalities currently facing U.S. removal, including detailed year-over-year growth rates for rapidly rising countries like Ecuador and Venezuela, see our companion data on ICE Deportation List by Country, which tracks the full 72-country breakdown behind these enforcement statistics.
FY2026 Enforcement Pace and Mexico’s Share
| FY2026 Metric | Data Point |
|---|---|
| Total ICE removals (Oct 1, 2025 – July 11, 2026) | 356,389 |
| Comparable point, FY2025 | 319,980 |
| Increase over FY2025 | +36,409 removals |
| Average daily removal pace, FY2026 | ~1,255 per day (through mid-July) |
| Peak daily removal pace recorded | 1,456 per day (late January 2026) |
| June 2026 arrests | More than 43,000 — highest monthly total on record |
| Early July 2026 daily arrest pace | ~1,593 per day |
| Estimated Mexican-national share of FY2026 removals | Roughly 125,000–140,000, based on historical ~35–39% share |
Source: ICE data releases; independent immigration enforcement trackers, July 2026
Fiscal Year 2026 is already tracking well ahead of the prior fiscal year, with 356,389 total removals recorded through July 11 — a pace that, if sustained, would push the full-year total meaningfully higher than FY2025’s final tally. Applying Mexico’s historically consistent 35–39% share of total enforcement actions to this FY2026 running total suggests Mexican nationals likely account for somewhere between 125,000 and 140,000 of these removals so far this fiscal year, though this is an estimate based on historical proportions rather than a directly published country-specific FY2026 figure.
The June 2026 arrest total of more than 43,000 — described by federal officials as the highest monthly figure in ICE’s 23-year history — and the subsequent acceleration into July suggest that whatever downward trend affected Mexican-specific deportations in calendar year 2025 may not fully carry through into 2026’s accelerating enforcement pace, particularly if interior arrests increasingly draw from the large pool of Mexican nationals already residing in the U.S. rather than relying solely on new border apprehensions.
Accountability and Legal Developments 2026
| Development | Data / Context |
|---|---|
| Mexican nationals reported killed in ICE-related incidents | 17 |
| Mexican government response | Pursuing criminal legal action — strongest Latin American pushback to date |
| ICE custody deaths overall, since January 2025 | 47 (per independent tracking) |
| ICE custody deaths in 2026 alone | 16, roughly one every 6.3 days |
| Recent Mexican-national death in ICE custody | Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, age 49, died April 11, 2026 at Winn Correctional Center, Louisiana |
Source: Independent ICE custody death tracking; regional press reporting on Mexico’s legal response, July 2026
Mexico’s decision to pursue criminal legal action over the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals connected to ICE enforcement represents, according to regional press coverage, the strongest formal response from any Latin American government to the current U.S. immigration crackdown. This marks a notable shift from the largely diplomatic and administrative posture Mexico has maintained through most of 2025, when cooperation on deportation logistics and border security coexisted alongside periodic public criticism of enforcement tactics.
The broader context of 47 total deaths in ICE custody since January 2025, with 16 occurring in 2026 alone at a pace of roughly one every six days, has drawn sustained scrutiny from human rights organizations and, increasingly, from the governments of the countries most affected. Given that Mexican nationals make up the largest single detained population, it is statistically unsurprising that they also represent a substantial share of custody deaths — a pattern that adds weight to Mexico’s decision to escalate from diplomatic protest to formal legal proceedings.
Readers interested in the fuller detention picture behind these enforcement numbers, including facility-by-facility population breakdowns and the demographic makeup of who is currently held, can find additional detail in our ICE Detention Statistics in the U.S coverage, which tracks the national detention system that Mexican deportees pass through before removal.
Data Reliability Notes for Mexican Deportation Statistics 2026
| Category | Status as of Mid-2026 |
|---|---|
| Full calendar-year 2026 Mexican deportation total | Not yet available — year in progress |
| FY2026 Mexico-specific removal count | Not directly published; estimated from historical share |
| Discrepancy between DHS and Mexican government counts | Present but narrowing — both sides now publish more frequently |
| State-of-origin data | Most current and reliable at 12-month rolling basis (Feb 2025–Feb 2026) |
| Custody death figures | Compiled independently from ICE press releases; not a single official consolidated dataset |
Source: Cross-referenced ICE, DHS, and Mexican government data, current as of July 2026
Because deportation and enforcement data is published by multiple agencies on different schedules — ICE’s fiscal-year removal counts, Mexico’s calendar-year National Institute of Migration figures, and periodic administration-specific snapshots like the “first 100 days” tally — readers should treat any single number in isolation with some caution and instead look at the reporting period attached to it. The clearest, most consistent trendline remains Mexico’s own year-over-year deportation count, which shows two consecutive years of decline through 2025, even as broader U.S. enforcement metrics for detention, arrests, and total removals across all nationalities continue climbing toward new records in 2026.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
