Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported just 55,590 illegal immigrants in 2021, the fewest number in five years, according to a document obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The 2021 numbers represent a 70 percent decrease from 2020, when ICE deported 185,884. In 2019, ICE deported 267,258 migrants.
The numbers come from the 2021 ICE Annual Report, a critical overview of the agency's work in the previous fiscal year. The report was released a month after the Free Beacon reported on the Biden administration's efforts to keep the report from the public, which generated outrage from lawmakers. The numbers illustrate how much immigration enforcement has dropped under President Joe Biden, even as the country faces an unprecedented surge of migrants on the southern border.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.