Panel: Can Democracies Deport Millions?

Panel Examines Law, Politics, and Reality

By CIS on March 25, 2026

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Event Summary

At a moment when calls for large-scale deportations are reshaping politics on both sides of the Atlantic, an International Network for Immigration Research (INIR) panel asks a difficult question: Can democracies actually deport large numbers of people, and what happens if they try? 

Despite years of political focus, large-scale deportation remains extraordinarily difficult to execute in democratic systems governed by courts, rights protections, and bureaucratic limits. This timely panel explored what is politically popular, what is legally possible, and what is practically achievable.

Panelists

Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies (Moderator)

Viktor Marsai, Director of the Budapest-based Migration Research Institute

Matt O’Brien, Deputy Executive Director, Federation for American Immigration Reform

Jim Robb, Vice President of Alliances, NumbersUSA

Date and Location

April 9, 2026

Washington, DC