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The forced return of significant numbers of migrants who are not being granted refugee status or residence permits is common practice in most destination countries. The United States deported a total of 6.4 million migrants between 2000 and 2020, 90% of whom were sent back to Latin America and the Caribbean (US Department of Homeland Security, various years). Countries of the European Union ordered the return of more than 7 million persons since the year 2008 and deported almost 2.2 million (Eurostat 2023). For some countries, the inflow of returned migrants is of considerable size. For countries such as El Salvador and Honduras, the cumulative inflow of deported migrants from the US since the late 1990s is equivalent to roughly 5% of their current population stocks (US Department of Homeland Security, various years). Current migration debates, almost everywhere, include calls for scaling up forced returns.

The forced return of large numbers of migrants who are denied refugee status or residence permits is a common practice in most destination countries. Between 2000 and 2020, the United States deported 6.4 million migrants, 90% of whom were sent back to Latin America and the Caribbean (US Department of Homeland Security, various years). Since 2008, European Union countries have ordered the return of more than 7 million individuals and deported nearly 2.2 million (Eurostat 2023).

For some countries, the scale of return migration is significant. In El Salvador and Honduras, the cumulative inflow of deported migrants from the U.S. since the late 1990s amounts to approximately 5% of their current population. Meanwhile, calls to expand forced returns continue to shape migration debates worldwide.

We study deportation risks and consequences in two projects:

  1. Immigration Enforcement across the World: The Drivers and Consequences of Deportation Risk, with funding from Thyssen Foundation (DEPRISK project, 09/2022-09/2025)
  2. The Long Shadow of Immigration Enforcement, with funding from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DEPCON project, 02/2025-022/2027)

You can learn more about the projects' team here.