Newsweek tries gaslighting Americans again — this time about Trump's deportation numbers
Newsweek, a left-leaning outfit that has repeatedly prioritized narrative over facts and common sense, continued the pattern last week with a story mutilating key facts in an apparent effort to paint the Trump administration's deportation efforts so far as a relative failure. Dan Gooding, a British reporter covering immigration for Newsweek in New York City, claimed that with the Trump administration's current rate of deportations, "it would be on track to deport half the number of migrants removed during former President Joe Biden's last full fiscal year in 2024." The trouble with Gooding's claim, which he insinuated was evidence of President Donald Trump fumbling the ball on a major campaign promise, is that he centers it on a misreading of the facts. The Newsweek writer apparently based his assertion on the the say-so of an unnamed "expert"; the Department of Homeland Security's Feb. 4 announcement that 5,693 illegal aliens had been deported or removed from the country during Trump's first two weeks in office; and a comparison to a dataset that also incorporates the number of foreign nationals turned away by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border. 'The failing legacy media has resorted to lying.' Gooding noted that "the last monthly figures available from Biden's presidency, for November 2024, show 48,970 total removals, averaging around 12,200 a week." That figure is, however, not the number of deportations or removals for that month. According to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, the 48,970 figure reflects total repatriations for the month of November, including removals, expulsions, and returns. Returns, which are not based on an order of removal, include voluntary departures, voluntary returns, and withdrawals of application for admission. Returns, which accounted for the majority of repatriations in fiscal year 2024, were not mentioned in the DHS announcement where Goodman sourced the starting point for his comparison. Alex Pfieffer, White House principal deputy communications director, told Blaze News the Newsweek article, which has yet to be corrected, is "comparing apples to oranges." "The failing legacy media has resorted to lying instead of honestly covering President Trump's successful immigration policies," said Pfeiffer. Although Newsweek got the facts wrong again, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, recently made clear that he wants to beef up arrests and deportations. Homan told NewsNation Tuesday on the topic of ICE arrests, "If you look at the rest of interior enforcement, it's about three times higher than it was a year ago today. Three times higher is good, but I'm not satisfied. There are more criminal aliens that need to be arrested, hundreds of thousands." "Sanctuary cities are putting roadblocks up. We've got leaks. So we need to increase the arrests of illegal aliens, especially those with criminal convictions. So we're going to continue," added Homan. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Newsweek, a left-leaning outfit that has repeatedly prioritized narrative over facts and common sense, continued the pattern last week with a story mutilating key facts in an apparent effort to paint the Trump administration's deportation efforts so far as a relative failure.
Dan Gooding, a British reporter covering immigration for Newsweek in New York City, claimed that with the Trump administration's current rate of deportations, "it would be on track to deport half the number of migrants removed during former President Joe Biden's last full fiscal year in 2024."
The trouble with Gooding's claim, which he insinuated was evidence of President Donald Trump fumbling the ball on a major campaign promise, is that he centers it on a misreading of the facts.
The Newsweek writer apparently based his assertion on the the say-so of an unnamed "expert"; the Department of Homeland Security's Feb. 4 announcement that 5,693 illegal aliens had been deported or removed from the country during Trump's first two weeks in office; and a comparison to a dataset that also incorporates the number of foreign nationals turned away by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border.
'The failing legacy media has resorted to lying.'
Gooding noted that "the last monthly figures available from Biden's presidency, for November 2024, show 48,970 total removals, averaging around 12,200 a week."
That figure is, however, not the number of deportations or removals for that month. According to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, the 48,970 figure reflects total repatriations for the month of November, including removals, expulsions, and returns.
Returns, which are not based on an order of removal, include voluntary departures, voluntary returns, and withdrawals of application for admission. Returns, which accounted for the majority of repatriations in fiscal year 2024, were not mentioned in the DHS announcement where Goodman sourced the starting point for his comparison.
Alex Pfieffer, White House principal deputy communications director, told Blaze News the Newsweek article, which has yet to be corrected, is "comparing apples to oranges."
"The failing legacy media has resorted to lying instead of honestly covering President Trump's successful immigration policies," said Pfeiffer.
Although Newsweek got the facts wrong again, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, recently made clear that he wants to beef up arrests and deportations.
Homan told NewsNation Tuesday on the topic of ICE arrests, "If you look at the rest of interior enforcement, it's about three times higher than it was a year ago today. Three times higher is good, but I'm not satisfied. There are more criminal aliens that need to be arrested, hundreds of thousands."
"Sanctuary cities are putting roadblocks up. We've got leaks. So we need to increase the arrests of illegal aliens, especially those with criminal convictions. So we're going to continue," added Homan.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze
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