Amid riots in Los Angeles and other cities nationwide against immigration enforcement, some have revived the old talking point that former President Barack Obama was the “Deporter-in-Chief.” The implication is if mass deportations under Obama didn’t spark outrage, why the fury now? But the claim gives credit to Obama where credit simply is not due. Obama didn’t preside over an unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration — he redefined deportation statistics to make it look that way.
Back in 2014, the National Council of La Raza labeled Obama “deporter-in-chief.” The label has stuck around for years, with ABC News declaring in 2016 that “Obama Has Deported More People Than Any Other President” and NPR stating “Obama Leaves Office As ‘Deporter-In-Chief’” in 2017.
Even conservatives have peddled the label in a bid to undermine the left’s opposition to Trump’s deportation plan.
“Throwback to 2014: Obama was crowned ‘Deporter-in-Chief’ for kicking out record numbers of illegal immigrants. No riots. No street chaos. No cries of ‘authoritarianism.’ Just crickets and quiet headlines. But now that Trump is enforcing the law? Suddenly the left is staging ‘spontaneous’ protests nationwide,” Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt said in a post on X.
But the label was untrue.
Hellbound and Down 