Get the Facts: DeSantis makes claim about deportation under Trump, Obama

YOU’LL BE GLAD YOU DID. TRIPLE-A. WE’RE ALWAYS WITH YOU. IT’S THE HOME STRETCH. WITH LESS THAN THREE WEEKS UNTIL THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY, CANDIDATES ARE MAKING THEIR FINAL PUSH. AND AS THEY’RE ON THE STUMP, IMMIGRATION, THE CRISIS ON THE US-MEXICO BORDER CONTINUES TO BE FRONT AND CENTER RIGHT NOW. SO IT’S TIME TO GET THE FACTS ON A CLAIM MADE BY ONE OF THE CANDIDATES ON THAT ISSUE, FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS SAID THIS. WHEN IT COMES TO DEPORTATIONS, WE’LL GET TO THAT STATEMENT IN A SECOND. BUT FIRST, I WANT TO WELCOME IN. JOINING US FROM POLITIFACT IS FACT CHECKER MARIA RAMIREZ URIBE. MARIA, GREAT TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS AFTERNOON. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. OKAY. SO WE’RE GOING TO PULL UP THE STATEMENT FOR OUR VIEWERS SO WE CAN ALL CHAT ABOUT THIS TOGETHER. THIS IS WHAT RON DESANTIS SAID. THIS WAS DURING A TELEVISED TOWN HALL BACK ON JANUARY SECOND. QUOTE, TRUMP PROMISED THE LARGEST DEPORTATIONS IN HISTORY, GOING ON TO SAY TRUMP DEPORTED LESS. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THAN BARACK OBAMA EVEN DID. OKAY, SO I KNOW POLITIFACT HAS LOOKED AT THIS VERY CAREFULLY, LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS, AND YOU GUYS ACTUALLY RATED THIS CLAIM AS TRUE. BUT THERE ARE DIFFERENT DEPORTATION METRICS. YES, BUT YOU NOTE THAT OBAMA SURPASSED TRUMP’S NUMBERS IN EACH ONE. SO BREAK DOWN THE NUMBERS FOR US. LET US KNOW HOW YOU CAME TO THIS CONCLUSION AND WHERE KIND OF EACH STANDS WHEN IT CAME TO DEPORTATIONS. YEAH. SO AS YOU MENTIONED, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CLASSIFIES DEPORTATIONS AS THE REMOVAL OF NON-CITIZENS FROM THE U.S., BUT THERE’S SORT OF DIFFERENT METRICS THAT THE GOVERNMENT USES TO ACTUALLY TRACK THOSE DEPORTATIONS. SO THE FIRST ONE IS REMOVALS AND REMOVALS HAPPEN WHEN PEOPLE ARE SENT OUT OF THE U.S. VIA. AN OFFICIAL COURT ORDER, USUALLY THESE PEOPLE ARE PENALIZED FOR ENTERING ILLEGALLY, SO THEY MIGHT HAVE A FINE. THEY HAVE TO PAY, OR THEY MIGHT BE BARRED FROM ENTERING THE U.S. AGAIN FOR A SET NUMBER OF YEARS. AMES AND REMOVALS CAN INCLUDE PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST CROSSED THE BORDER, OR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LIVING IN THE U.S. FOR YEARS AND WERE FOUND BY IMMIGRATION AGENTS INSIDE THE U.S. AND THEN DEPORTED OUT. THEN YOU HAVE RETURNS AND THIS HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE ARE RETURNED TO THEIR HOME COUNTRIES. BUT IN THIS CASE, IT HAPPENS WITHOUT THOSE LEGAL PENALTIES AND WITHOUT BEING PLACED IN FORMAL REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS. THEREFORE, THEY DON’T HAVE THAT COURT ORDER THAT THEY DO WITH A REMOVAL. THIS OFTENTIMES HAPPENS AT THE BORDER. YOU JUST CROSS THE BORDER YOU ENTERED, YOU SAW AN IMMIGRATION AGENT. THAT PERSON TOLD YOU YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO LEGALLY REMAIN IN THE U.S. AND YOU SAID, THAT’S FINE. I’LL VOLUNTARILY GO BACK TO MY HOME COUNTRY. AND THEN YOU HAVE THE KIND OF THIRD, A LITTLE BIT OF AN ODD ONE. IT’S TITLE 42 EXPULSIONS. NOW, THIS DID NOT HAPPEN UNDER OBAMA’S ADMINISTRATION, AND IT ONLY HAPPENED FOR A LITTLE BIT OF TRUMP’S ADMINISTRATION. AND THAT’S BECAUSE IT WAS A PANDEMIC ERA POLICY. IT’S CALLED TITLE 42, A PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY THAT ESSENTIALLY ALLOWED BORDER OFFICIALS TO SORT OF QUICKLY EXPEL PEOPLE AT THE BORDER. SO, AGAIN, THIS DID NOT HAPPEN IN THE INTERIOR OF THE COUNTRY. IT HAPPENED WHEN PEOPLE HAD JUST REACHED THE BORDER. THEY WERE QUICKLY EXPELLED WITHOUT ANY LEGAL PENALTIES. IF WE LOOK AT JUST REMOVALS, IF WE LOOK AT JUST RETURNS, OBAMA HAD MORE THAN TRUMP. IF WE LOOK AT THE COMBINATION, TRUMP HAD ABOUT 2 MILLION DURING HIS TERMS. OBAMA’S FIRST TURN, HE HAD 3.2 MILLION DEPORTATIONS. AND THEN HIS SECOND TUM 2.1 MILLION. SO A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO THAT TRUMP NUMBER, BUT NOT QUITE LOWER. ALL RIGHT, MARIA, THANK YOU. AND YOU NOTE THAT THE DESANTIS CAMPAIGN POINTED YOU TO THE CATO INSTITUTE. THAT FOUND MUCH OF THE SAME AS WELL.