From Roots to Removals

Andrés Felipe Camacho

From Roots to Removals

Understanding Migrations and Deportations in the United States

The Beginning (1850)

In 1850, the United States was home to 2.2 million foreign-born residents (9.7% of the population), representing the early waves of immigration that would shape the nation's character and economy.

Post-War Growth (1960)

By 1960, the immigrant population had grown to 9.7 million (5.4% of the population), reflecting post-World War II migration patterns and the beginning of increased global mobility.

Modern Migration (2010)

The 21st century saw explosive growth—39.9 million foreign-born residents (12.9% of the population) called the U.S. home, making America one of the world's most diverse nations.

Today (2024)

Today, 50.2 million immigrants (14.8% of the population) live in the United States. Each icon you see represents about 200,000 individuals contributing to American society, economy, and culture.

Generations of Migrants

According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), immigrants and their U.S.-born children (first and second generation together) now number about 90.8 million people, or 27 percent of the U.S. civilian population in 2023. MPI further estimates that in 2022 roughly 17.6 million children, 26 percent of all U.S. children, lived with at least one immigrant parent, and that nearly nine in ten of these children (87 percent) are U.S.-born second-generation immigrants.

Historically, the largest inflows feeding these diasporas were overwhelmingly European – especially German, Irish and Italian – whereas today the single most prominent origin is Mexican, which makes a sharp contrast with how heavily recent enforcement and deportation policies have targeted Latin American migrants.

The Deportation Pipeline

This diagram shows the flow of individuals through ICE's enforcement pipeline from 2023-2025. An arrest occurs when ICE apprehends someone. After arrest, individuals may be transferred to ICE detention facilities or released (shown as "No Detention"). Some individuals appear in detention without a corresponding ICE arrest in our data—these may represent transfers from Customs and Border Protection or other agencies (shown as "No ICE Arrest"). From detention, individuals either proceed to removal (deportation from the United States) or are released. This visualization tracks unique individuals through each stage of the enforcement process.

Timeline of Deportations

Monthly counts of arrests, detentions, and removals over time.

Select the country of citizenship you want to show.

Understanding the Patterns

The timeline reveals important trends in deportations. Notice how the three lines—arrests, detentions, and removals—fluctuate over time, showing the ebb and flow of enforcement activities.

A New Administration

In January 2025, a new administration took office, marking a significant shift in immigration policy. The vertical line indicates this transition point, which may have influenced deportation patterns.

The Journey of Removal

Between September 2023 and July 2025, 527,346 individuals were removed from the United States. This visualization traces their journey from the state of arrest to their country of destination.

Destination 1

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    Destination 2

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      Destination 3

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        Explore Destinations Yourself

        The map now shows the entire world. Hover over any country to see removal statistics and filter migration flows. Click on a country to zoom in and explore in detail. All map controls are now unlocked for your exploration.

        Paths Through Detention

        Before being removed from the United States, detained individuals are often transferred between multiple detention facilities across the country. Some people experience dozens of transfers, spending months or years moving through the detention system. This visualization reveals the network of transfers and follows two individual stories through America's detention infrastructure.

        A Network of Transfers

        Among the nearly 700,000 detention records in our data, over 176,000 individuals were detained in more than one facility. Across all transfers, people traveled an average of 493 miles (793 km) between facilities.

        Each flowing particle represents approximately 50 transfer events between two facilities. The busiest routes show the most particles moving between them.

        Chicago

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        Top destination:

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        Busiest Transfer Facility

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        Top destinations from here:

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        Second Busiest Facility

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        Detention Story 1: 14 Facilities

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        Starting journey...

        Follow the red point as it moves through each detention facility.

        The Human Cost of Transfers

        Thousands of people experience multiple transfers during their detention, each move disrupting legal proceedings, family connections, and medical care.

        The human cost of these transfers, including disrupted attorney-client relationships, separation from family, and psychological toll, cannot be captured in miles or statistics alone.

        Explore the facilities data yourself

        The blue markers show detention facilities across the United States. Each facility's size represents the volume of transfers it handles.

        Hover over any facility to see its transfer statistics.
        Zoom and pan to explore different regions.
        Watch the continuous flow of transfers in the background.

        Repository and Code

        The repository and code for this project is available on GitHub.

        Data Sources & Methodology

        Data Sources

        Visualization Methodology

        • Particle Representation: Each particle in the removal flows represents approximately 50 individuals transferred between locations
        • Detention Transfers: Each background particle represents approximately 50 transfer events between detention facilities
        • Data Aggregation: Flows are aggregated by facility pairs and origin-destination pairs to improve performance and clarity
        • Distance Calculations: All distances calculated using the Haversine formula for great circle distances
        • Filtering: Only individuals with 2+ detention records are included in the detention journey analysis (176,947 individuals)
        • Note: The Migration Policy Institute data represents estimates of the foreign-born population based on U.S. Census and American Community Survey data