The cost for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest, detain and deport someone is at least $17,121, on average, according to the agency.

The federal agency, located within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, cited that cost this year as President Donald Trump’s administration ramped up deportations of undocumented immigrants. As of late October, DHS had reportedly deported 527,000 people during Trump’s second term. 

ICE may be underestimating the taxpayer cost of deportations. Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research initiative, calculated a much higher per-deportee cost. 

Studies cited by Penn Wharton had costs per deportation ranging from $30,591 to $109,880, coming out to an average of $70,236. The biggest variable between the two studies was the detention and monitoring cost, a figure that is dependent on how long a deportee is detained.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS Announces Historic Travel Assistance and Stipend for Voluntary Self-Deportation
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS Removes More than Half a Million Illegal Aliens From US
• Penn Wharton Budget Model Mass Deportation of Unauthorized Immigrants: Fiscal and Economic Effects
• American Action Forum The Budgetary and Economic Costs of Addressing Unauthorized Immigration: Alternative Strategies
• American Immigration Council Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, its Budget and Economy

This fact brief was originally published by MinnPost on November 18, 2025, and was authored by Brian Arola. MinnPost is a member of the Gigafact network.