Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from itssovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time.[1][2][3][4] A person who has been deported or is under sentence of deportation is called adeportee.[5]
Definitions of deportation vary: some include "transfer beyond State borders" (distinguishing it fromforcible transfer),[2] others consider it "the actual implementation of [an expulsion] order in cases where the person concerned does not follow it voluntarily".[3] Others differentiate removal oflegal immigrants (expulsion) fromillegal immigrants (deportation).[6]
Deportation in the most general sense, in accordance withInternational Organization for Migration,[7] treats expulsion and deportation as synonyms in the context of migration, adding:
"The terminology used at the domestic or international level on expulsion and deportation is not uniform but there is a clear tendency to use the term expulsion to refer to the legal order to leave the territory of a State, and removal or deportation to refer to the actual implementation of such order in cases where the person concerned does not follow it voluntarily."[8]
According to theEuropean Court of Human Rights, collective expulsion is any measure compellingnon-nationals, as a group, to leave a country, except where such a measure is taken on the basis of a reasonable and objective examination of the particular case of each individual non-national of the group. Mass expulsion may also occur when members of an ethnic group are sent out of a state regardless of nationality. Collective expulsion, or expulsion en masse, is prohibited by several instruments ofinternational law.[9]
Deportation was practiced as a policy toward rebellious people inAchaemenid Empire. The precise legal status of the deportees is unclear; but ill-treatment is not recorded. Instances include:[10]
Unlike in the Achaemenid and Sassanian periods, records of deportation are rare during theArsacid Parthian period. One notable example was the deportation of theMards inCharax, nearRay byPhraates I. The 10,000 Roman prisoners of war after theBattle of Carrhae appear to have been deported toMerv near the eastern border in 53 BC, who are said to married to local people. It is hypothesized that some of them founded the Chinese city ofLiqian after becoming soldiers for theXiongnu tribe, but this is doubted.[10]
Deportation was widely used by the Sasanians, especially during thewars with the Romans.
DuringShapur I's reign, the Romans (includingValerian) who were defeated at theBattle of Edessa were deported toPersis. Other destinations wereParthia,Khuzestan, andAsorestan. There were cities which were founded and were populated by Romans prisoners of war, including Shadh-Shapur (Dayr Mikhraq) inMeshan,Bishapur in Persis, Wuzurg-Shapur (Ukbara; Marw-Ḥābūr), andGundeshapur. Agricultural land were also given to the deportees. These deportations initiated the spreadChristianity in the Sassanian empire. In Rēw-Ardashīr (Rishahr; Yarānshahr), Persis, there was a church for the Romans and another one forCarmanians.[10] Their hypothesized decisive role in the spread of Christianity in Persia and their major contribution to Persian economy has been recently criticized by Mosig-Walburg (2010).[14] In the mid-3rd century, Greek-speaking deportees from north-western Syria were settled inKashkar, Mesopotamia.
After the Arab incursion into Persia duringShapur II's reign, he scattered thedefeated Arab tribes by deporting them to other regions. Some were deported toBahrain andKirman, possibly to both populate these unattractive regions (due to their climate) and bringing the tribes under control.[10]
In 395 AD 18,000 Roman populations ofSophene,Armenia,Mesopotamia,Syria, andCappadocia were captured and deported by the "Huns". the prisoners were freed by the Persians as they reached Persia, and were settled in Slōk (Wēh Ardashīr) and Kōkbā (Kōkhē). The author of the textLiber Calipharum has praised the kingYazdegerd I (399–420) for his treatment of the deportees, who also allowed some to return.[10]
Major deportations occurred during the campaigns ofKhosrau I from the Roman cities ofSura,Beroea,Antioch,Apamea,Callinicum, andBatnai inOsrhoene, toWēh-Antiyōk-Khosrow (also known as Rūmagān; in Arabic: al-Rūmiyya). The city was founded nearCtesiphon especially for them, and Khosrow reportedly "did everything in his power to make the residents want to stay".[10] The number of the deportees is recorded to be 292,000 in another source.[15][page needed]
The Medieval European age was marked with several large religious deportations, including that of Christians, Jews and Muslims. For instance, theAlmoravid deported Christians from Spain to Morocco, with mass deportations taking place in 1109, 1126, 1130 and 1138.[16]
With the beginning of theAge of Discovery, deporting individuals to an overseas colony also became common practice. As early as the 16th century,degredados formed a substantial portion of early colonists inPortuguese empire.[17][full citation needed] From 1717 onward Britain deported around 40,000[18]: 5 British religious objectors and "criminals" to America before the practice ceased in 1776.[19] Jailers sold the "criminals" to shipping contractors, who then sold them toplantation owners. The "criminals" worked for the plantation owner for the duration of their sentence.[18]: 5 After Britain lost control of the area which became the United States, Australia became the destination for "criminals" deported to British colonies. Britaintransported more than 160,000[18]: 1 British "criminals" to theAustralian colonies between 1787 and 1855.[20]
Meanwhile, in Japan duringSakoku, all Portuguese and Spanish people were expelled from the country.
In the late 19th century the United States of America began designating "desired" and "undesired" immigrants, leading to the birth ofillegal immigration and subsequent deportation of immigrants when found in irregular situations.[22] Starting with theChinese Exclusion Act, the US government has since deported more than 55 million immigrants, the majority of whom came from Latin-American countries.[23]
In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, more stringent enforcement of immigration laws were ordered by the executive branch of the U.S. government, which led to increased deportation andrepatriation to Mexico. In the 1930s, during theGreat Depression, between 355,000 and 2 million Mexicans and Mexican Americans were deported or repatriated to Mexico, an estimated 40 to 60% of whom were U.S. citizens – overwhelmingly children. At least 82,000 Mexicans were formally deported between 1929 and 1935 by the government. Voluntary repatriations were more common than deportations.[30][31]
In 1954, the executive branch of the U.S. government implementedOperation Wetback, a program created in response to public hysteria about immigration and immigrants from Mexico.[32] Operation Wetback led to the deportation of nearly 1.3 million Mexicans from the United States.[33][34]
Nazi policies deportedhomosexuals, Jews,[35][36]Poles, andRomani from their established places of residence toNazi concentration camps orextermination camps set up at a considerable distance from their original residences. During the Holocaust, the Nazis made heavy use ofeuphemisms, where "deportation" frequently meant the victims were subsequently killed, as opposed to simply being relocated.[37]
The Soviet Union, especially underJoseph Stalin during the 1930s and 1940s, carried out forced mass-transfers of some 6 million people, resulting in millions of deaths. As many as 110 separate deportations have been catalogued, included the targeting of at least 13 distinct ethnicities and 8 entire nations. Many historians have described Soviet deportations asethnic cleansing,crimes against humanity, and/orgenocide.[39][40][41][42][43]
All countries reserve the right to deport persons withoutright of abode, even those who are longtimeresidents or possesspermanent residency. In general, foreigners who have committed serious crimes, entered the country illegally, overstayed or broken the conditions of theirvisa, or otherwise lost their legal status to remain in the country may be administratively removed or deported.[45]
Since the 1980s, the world also saw the development of practices ofexternalization/"offshoring immigrants", currently being used by Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom,[46] and the European Union.[47] Some of the countries in thePersian Gulf have even used this to deport their own citizens, paying theComoros to give thempassports and accept them.[48][49]
During itsinvasion of Ukraine, theRussian Federation has perpetrated mass deportations of Ukrainian citizens to Russia and occupied territories. While independent numbers are difficult to come by, and depending on the degree of Russian coercion or force required to meet the definition of "deported", reported numbers range from tens of thousands to 4.5 million deportees.[41][51][52][53]
Deportation in the second presidency of Donald Trump since 2025. The Trump administration has claimed that around 140,000 people had been deported as of April 2025, though some estimates put the number at roughly half that amount.[57]
Many criticize deportations as inhumane, as well as questioning their effectiveness. Some are completely opposed towards any deportations, while others state it is inhumane to take somebody to a foreign land without their consent.[59][60][61]
In literature, deportation appears as an overriding theme in the 1935 novel,Strange Passage by Theodore D. Irwin.Films depicting or dealing with fictional cases of deportation are many and varied. Among them areEllis Island (1936),Exile Express (1939),Five Came Back (1939),Deported (1950), andGambling House (1951). More recently,Shottas (2002) treated the issue of U.S. deportation to the Caribbean post-1997.
^Jean-Marie Henckaerts in his bookMass Expulsion in Modern International Law and Practice wrote:
As far as deportation is concerned, there is no general feature that clearly sets it apart from expulsion. Both term basically indicate the same phenomenon. ... The only difference seems to be one of preferential use, expulsion being more an international term while deportation is more used in municipal law. ... One study [discusses this distinction] but immediately adds that in modern practice both terms have become interchangeable.
^W. Kälin, "Aliens, Expulsion and Deportation" in R. Wolfrum (ed)Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (2014).[ISBN missing][page needed]
^Lemche, Niels Peter (2004).Historical dictionary of ancient Israel. Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 106.ISBN978-0-8108-4848-1.
^Bruce, Frederick Fyvie (1990).The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 117.ISBN0-8028-0966-9.
^Lower, Michael (2014). "The Papacy and Christian Mercenaries of Thirteenth-Century North Africa".Speculum.89 (3 July). The University of Chicago Press:601–631.doi:10.1017/S0038713414000761.S2CID154773840.
^Johnston, Hugh (1995). "Exclusion".The Voyage of the Komagata Maru: The Sikh's challenge to Canada's colour bar. Vancouver: UBC Press. p. 138. Retrieved13 March 2022.The Canadian government tried to stop the Indian influx with a continuous passage order-in-council issued 8 Jan. 1908, but it was loosely drafted and successfully challenged in court
^McKay, "The Federal Deportation Campaign in Texas: Mexican Deportation from the Lower Rio Grande Valley During the Great Depression",Borderlands Journal, Fall 1981; Balderrama and Rodriguez,Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s, 1995; Valenciana, "Unconstitutional Deportation of Mexican Americans During the 1930s: A Family History and Oral History",Multicultural Education, Spring 2006.
^See Albert G. Mata, "Operation Wetback: The Mass Deportation of Mexican Undocumented Workers in 1954 by Juan Ramon García",Contemporary Sociology, 1:5 (September 1983), p. 574 ("the widespread concern and hysteria about 'wetback inundation'...");Bill Ong Hing,Defining America Through Immigration Policy, Temple University Press, 2004, p. 130.ISBN1-59213-233-2 ("While Operation Wetback temporarily relieved national hysteria, criticism of the Bracero program mounted."); David G. Gutiérrez,Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity, University of California Press, 1995, p. 168.ISBN0-520-20219-8 ("The situation was further complicated by the government's active collusion in perpetuating the political powerlessness of ethnic Mexicans by condoning the use of Mexican labor while simultaneously whipping up anti-Mexican hysteria against wetbacks."); Ian F. Haney López,Racism on Trial: The Chicano Fight for Justice, new ed., Belknap Press, 2004, p. 83.ISBN0-674-01629-7 ("... Operation Wetback revived Depression-era mass deportations. Responding to public hysteria about the 'invasion' of the United States by 'illegal aliens', this campaign targeted large Mexican communities such as East Los Angeles."); Jaime R. Aguila, "Book Reviews: Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s. By Francisco E. Balderrama and Raymond Rodríguez",Journal of San Diego History, 52:3–4 (Summer–Fall 2006), p. 197. ("Anti-immigrant hysteria contributed to the implementation of Operation Wetback in the mid 1950s....")
^García, Juan Ramon.Operation Wetback: The Mass Deportation of Mexican Undocumented Workers in 1954. Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1980.ISBN0-313-21353-4
^Hing, Bill Ong.Defining America Through Immigration Policy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004.ISBN1-59213-232-4
^Moss, Walter G. (1 July 2003). "Moscow and Its Rivals, 1304-1533: The End of Novgorodian Independence and the Triumph of Mosxcow, 1462-1533".A History of Russia. Anthem Series on Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. Vol. 1: To 1917. London: Anthem Press. p. 91.ISBN9780857287526. Retrieved9 June 2025.Some Novgorodians, however, plotted to regain their freedom. During the next dozen years Ivan [III] cut down remaining suspected opponents. He imprisoned and exiled thousands of 'traitors', mostly of the upper class, and he confiscated their property. But they were more fortunate than others who were tortured and executed. Altogether, Ivan ended up confiscating about 3 million acres of arable land. These lands were then turned over to about 2,000 'service men,' allowed to hold them only as long as they served the Moscow prince. This system of mass land confiscation, exile and resettlement set a precedent for similar actions in future years.
Aguila, Jaime R. "Book Reviews: Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s. By Francisco E. Balderrama and Raymond Rodríguez".Journal of San Diego History. 52:3–4 (Summer–Fall 2006).
Balderrama, Francisco and Rodriguez, Raymond.Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995.ISBN0-8263-1575-5.
Christensen, Peter (1993).The Decline of Iranshahr: Irrigation and Environments in the History of the Middle East, 500 B.C. to A.D. 1500. Copenhagen, Denmark: Museum Tusculanum Press.ISBN87-7289-259-5.
Conquest, Robert.The Nation Killers. New York: Macmillan, 1970.ISBN0-333-10575-3
Daniels, Roger.Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.ISBN0-06-050577-X
Dillman, Caroline Matheny.The Roswell Mills and A Civil War Tragedy: Excerpts From Days Gone by in Alpharetta and Roswell, Georgia. Vol. 1. Roswell, Ga.: Chattahoochee Press, 1996.ISBN0-9634253-0-7
Fischer, Ruth and Leggett, John C.Stalin and German Communism: A Study in the Origins of the State Party. Edison, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 2006.ISBN0-87855-822-5
Forsythe, David P. and Lawson, Edward.Encyclopedia of Human Rights. 2d ed. Florence, Ky.: Taylor & Francis, 1996.
Fragomen, Austin T. and Bell, Steven C.Immigration Fundamentals: A Guide to Law and Practice. New York: Practising Law Institute, 1996.ISBN0-87224-093-2
García, Juan Ramon.Operation Wetback: The Mass Deportation of Mexican Undocumented Workers in 1954. Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1980.ISBN0-313-21353-4.
Gibney, Matthew J. and Hansen, Randall. "Deportation and the Liberal State: The Involuntary Return of Asylum Seekers and Unlawful Migrants in Canada, the UK, and Germany".New Issues in Refugee Research: Working Paper Series No. 77. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2003.
Gutiérrez, David G.Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.ISBN0-520-20219-8
Hing, Bill Ong.Defining America Through Immigration Policy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004.ISBN1-59213-233-2
Hitt, Michael D.Charged with Treason: The Ordeal of 400 Mill Workers During Military Operations in Roswell, Georgia, 1864–1865. Monroe, N.Y.: Library Research Associates, 1992.ISBN0-912526-55-6
International Law Commission. United Nations.Yearbook of the International Law Commission 1996: Report of the Commission to the General Assembly on the Work of Its 48th Session. New York: United Nations Publications, 2000.ISBN92-1-133600-7
Kleveman, Lutz.The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia. Jackson, Tenn.: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003.ISBN0-87113-906-5
"The Law of Necessity As Applied in the Bisbee Deportation Case".Arizona Law Review. 3:2 (1961).
"Lewis Attacks Deportation of Leaders by West Virginia Authorities".The New York Times. 17 July 1921.
Lindquist, John H. and Fraser, James. "A Sociological Interpretation of the Bisbee Deportation".Pacific Historical Review. 37:4 (November 1968).
López, Ian F. Haney.Racism on Trial: The Chicano Fight for Justice. New ed. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2004.ISBN0-674-01629-7
Martin, MaryJoy.The Corpse On Boomerang Road: Telluride's War on Labor, 1899–1908. Lake City, Colo.: Western Reflections Publishing Co., 2004.ISBN1-932738-02-9
Mata, Albert G. "Operation Wetback: The Mass Deportation of Mexican Undocumented Workers in 1954 by Juan Ramon García".Contemporary Sociology. 1:5 (September 1983)
Mawdsley, Evan.The Stalin Years: The Soviet Union 1929–1953. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 2003.ISBN0-7190-6377-9
McCaffray, Susan Purves and Melancon, Michael S.Russia in the European Context, 1789–1914: A Member of the Family. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
McKay, Robert R. "The Federal Deportation Campaign in Texas: Mexican Deportation from the Lower Rio Grande Valley during the Great Depression".Borderlands Journal. (Fall 1981).
Naimark, Norman M.Fires of Hatred: Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.ISBN0-674-00994-0
President's Mediation Commission.Report on the Bisbee Deportations Made by the President's Mediation Commission to the President of the United States. Washington, D.C.: President's Mediation Commission, 6 November 1917.
Silverberg, Louis G. "Citizens' Committees: Their Role in Industrial Conflict".Public Opinion Quarterly. 5:1 (March 1941).
Suggs, Jr., George G.Colorado's War on Militant Unionism: James H. Peabody and the Western Federation of Miners. 2nd ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.ISBN0-8061-2396-6
Valenciana, Christine. "Unconstitutional Deportation of Mexican Americans During the 1930s: A Family History and Oral History".Multicultural Education. Spring 2006.
Grams, Grant W.(2025). The Nazi ‘Heim ins Reich’ program from Lands of Oversea Migration and German deportees from Canada and the United States, in Thomas Geisen (ed.) Journal of International Migration and Integration.
_of_the_Imperial_Government_of_China_-_NARA_-_294991.jpg)
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg)
