In the first 100 days of Donald Trump's second term, the US government promoted intense rhetoric about an alleged record campaign of arrests and deportations of immigrants. However, official data flatly contradict these claims. Despite the propaganda of forceful actions – such as sending military personnel to assist at the border and displaying arrests on social networks – the real numbers show that the new administration not only inflated the data but also lagged behind the previous government's rates.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in a statement released at the end of April, said that it had already deported more than 135 immigrants and arrested more than 151 thousand in just three months, numbers that, according to the government, would exceed the totals for fiscal year 2024 under the presidency of Joe Biden. The reality, however, points in another direction: the actual number of deportations during that period was approximately 72 thousand — practically half of what was announced and considerably lower than the 272 removals carried out during the entire last year of the Biden administration, according to a Trac report.

The discrepancy is not limited to removals. Daily arrests under Trump have been only marginally higher than under the previous administration, averaging 778 arrests per day, versus 759 under Biden — a difference of just 2%. Daily deportations under Trump are actually 1 percent lower than the average recorded during the previous administration.

In addition to numerical inconsistencies, another worrying point is the lack of transparency. Biweekly reports on immigration, traditionally published by ICE, have been suspended or postponed. The release of the data was only resumed after public criticism and with weeks of delay, compromising the ability to monitor the real performance of migration policy.

Official rhetoric also relies on alarmist narratives. The government says it is focusing on criminals and dangerous gang members, but many of those arrested report being detained in mundane situations, such as routine ICE appearances or interviews related to obtaining legal documents. These reports expose the contrast between the discourse of fighting crime and the practice of detaining immigrants in situations unrelated to threats to public safety.

While the Trump administration insists on portraying strength and efficiency in immigration enforcement, the data demonstrate that there is more spectacle than substance to its policy. With inflated numbers, lack of transparency and actions with symbolic impact, the current administration seems to invest more in creating a narrative than in presenting effective and documented results. For analysts and civil rights advocates, the challenge now is to maintain scrutiny of these allegations and ensure that the reality of the facts is not eclipsed by official rhetoric.