diff --git a/utils/get_modified_files.py b/utils/get_modified_files.py
index 44c60e96abb..6c8bdfcdf00 100644
--- a/utils/get_modified_files.py
+++ b/utils/get_modified_files.py
@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@ import sys
 
 
 fork_point_sha = subprocess.check_output("git merge-base main HEAD".split()).decode("utf-8")
-modified_files = subprocess.check_output(f"git diff --name-only {fork_point_sha}".split()).decode("utf-8").split()
+modified_files = (
+    subprocess.check_output(f"git diff --diff-filter=d --name-only {fork_point_sha}".split()).decode("utf-8").split()
+)
 
 joined_dirs = "|".join(sys.argv[1:])
 regex = re.compile(rf"^({joined_dirs}).*?\.py$")