# Record Deportations & the Drone War

> Oversaw record-high deportations (earning the 'Deporter-in-Chief' label) and a sharp expansion of covert drone strikes against terrorism suspects abroad.

Barack Obama · Immigration · Major Decision · Nov 20, 2014
Official record: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_policy_of_the_Barack_Obama_administration

## What happened

Oversaw record-high deportations (earning the 'Deporter-in-Chief' label) and a sharp expansion of covert drone strikes against terrorism suspects abroad.

## How it happened

Aggressive interior/border enforcement by DHS plus an expanded CIA/military targeted-killing program.

## Documented impact

- [negative / substantiated] Removed more people than any prior president and drew criticism over civilian drone deaths. — Deportations exceeded ~3 million; drone strikes expanded greatly, with documented civilian casualties and due-process concerns.
- [positive / contested] Framed as enforcing the law and degrading terrorist networks. — The administration argued enforcement prioritized criminals and that strikes disrupted al-Qaeda leadership.

## Sources

- [Immigration policy of the Obama administration (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_policy_of_the_Barack_Obama_administration)

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Canonical: https://eo.alanwizemann.com/eo/obama/record-deportations-and-the-drone-war