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WASHINGTON — After opening the border to tens of millions of illegal migrants since taking office in 2020, the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris has secretly expelled foreign nationals ahead of the 2024 election.

The deportations come as Vice President Kamala Harris works on her weak image on immigration. The deportations would take place in cities overwhelmed by Biden-Harris immigration policies and would include families, according to an ICE report.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expelled or returned more than 160,000 people in more than 145 countries since implementing new immigration policies on June 5, according to agency data released this week. The removals followed the presidential proclamation and interim final rule aimed at expediting the processing of noncitizens without a legal basis to remain in the United States.

This represents only a fraction of the number of illegal migrants, including suspected murder suspects, rapists, child sexual predators and violent criminal gang members allowed into the country under the open border policy of administration.

The administration is trying to avoid highlighting the expulsions for fear it could harm the election of the vice president, according to federal government officials who requested anonymity.

Between June and September, DHS said it conducted more than 495 international repatriation flights to destinations including Brazil, Central America, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Mexico and Peru. The department has significantly increased the percentage of expedited removals for people encountered at the southwest border, tripling that figure over the same period.

Overall, preliminary figures for fiscal year 2024 indicate that DHS completed more than 700,000 removals and returns, representing the highest total in more than a decade.

The agency noted that this year there were more removals to countries other than Mexico than ever before. Additionally, DHS said it has reduced the average removal processing time by more than half from historical levels for individuals unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States.

The department emphasized that all noncitizens are screened for valid protection claims, consistent with U.S. laws and international obligations, ensuring orderly and humane processing, transfers and removals. People placed in deportation proceedings have the opportunity to present their cases before immigration judges, who report to the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

“DHS remains committed to upholding both the law and the rights of noncitizens seeking protection,” the agency noted, emphasizing that it would not release information on future or ongoing transportation operations for operational security reasons.