Did President Joe Biden enact a policy in 2021–2024 that removed all immigration enforcement at the southern border?
Executive summary
No. Available reporting shows President Biden did not enact a policy from 2021–2024 that "removed all immigration enforcement" at the southern border; his administration both preserved major enforcement tools (including Title 42 early on) and later tightened asylum rules with a June 4, 2024 proclamation and interim/final rules that temporarily suspended or limited entry and restricted asylum during high-encounter periods [1] [2] [3]. Critics in Republican reports and congressional resolutions argue Biden dismantled enforcement; administration and neutral analysts document large numbers of encounters and a mix of expanded legal pathways, prosecutions and removals—showing contention over whether policies amounted to "removal" of enforcement [4] [5] [6].
1. “Abolished enforcement” is a political claim, not reflected in mainstream policy records
Multiple oversight reports and Republican committee materials assert the administration released millions and weakened enforcement, calling it “catch-and-release” or “open borders” [4] [7] [8]. Those sources make strong political claims about high release rates and policy dismantling, but available federal documents and independent summaries show the administration issued directives to prioritize certain enforcement targets while retaining removal authorities and using expulsions under Title 42 until it ended [9] [1]. The factual record therefore clashes with the absolutist claim that all enforcement was removed [9] [1].
2. Early Biden actions: changes in priorities, not a blanket halt
On Day One Biden rescinded or paused some Trump-era measures—stopping wall construction, rescinding zero-tolerance criminal charging guidance and ordering reviews of enforcement priorities—while directing DHS to focus resources on security and asylum processing [10] [11] [12]. Those orders changed priorities and practices inside DHS and ICE but did not equate to a legal or practical elimination of immigration enforcement powers [10] [9].
3. Title 42 and expulsions: retained then phased out, complicating perceptions
The Biden administration initially kept Title 42 — the pandemic-era authority to expel migrants quickly — and used it millions of times, according to reporting and analyses; critics say the later end of Title 42 and shifts in practice fueled political attacks that enforcement had been abandoned [13] [1] [14]. Independent reporting notes Title 42 remained in place through much of Biden’s early term and was a continuing enforcement tool before the CDC ended the emergency in mid‑2023 [13] [1].
4. Mid‑2023 to 2024: tightening asylum rules and temporary suspension authority
Facing sustained high encounters, the administration moved to restrict asylum eligibility and to use presidential authority to suspend or limit entry when encounters exceeded a set threshold. On June 4, 2024, Biden issued a proclamation and a DHS‑DOJ interim final rule to suspend or limit entry for certain noncitizens during high-encounter periods and to bar many who cross unlawfully from asylum [2] [5] [15]. DHS described these as measures to increase removals and consequences at the border—far from ending enforcement [16].
5. Enforcement actions and removals continued; numbers and interpretation diverge
Federal and independent sources document millions of migrant encounters and substantial parole and removal activity across Biden’s term; some analyses report millions paroled or encountered while others highlight large removal counts in FY2024 [6] [17]. Republican reports focus on high release figures and reduced ICE prioritization [4], whereas administration fact sheets emphasize new authorities to bar asylum and increase removals when thresholds are met [15] [16]. Both sides cite data; they interpret it differently.
6. Legal and policy nuance: priorities, temporary proclamations, and exemptions
Legal analyses note the administration changed DHS enforcement priorities and used statutory powers such as 8 U.S.C. §1182(f) to suspend entry for classes of aliens during high encounters; those proclamations contained explicit exemptions (unaccompanied children, trafficking victims, scheduled arrivals and discretionary CBP decisions), showing targeted—not blanket—suspension [5] [3]. Immigrant advocacy groups contend the June 2024 rules effectively block many asylum claims and raise due‑process concerns [18].
7. Bottom line: enforcement was retooled, not erased
The record shows Biden both narrowed ICE deportation priorities and pursued humanitarian and legal pathway expansions, while continuing expulsions, removals and—by mid‑2024—invoking powerful presidential suspension authority to restrict unlawful entry and asylum during high‑encounter periods [9] [15] [5]. Accusations that he “removed all immigration enforcement” are contradicted by administration actions, regulatory steps, and continued enforcement activity documented in the sources [16] [6].
Limitations and where reporting disagrees: partisan congressional and advocacy materials emphasize release numbers and policy dismantling [4] [7] [8]; DHS and neutral analysts emphasize retained enforcement tools, proclamations to restrict entry, and large deportation/removal figures in later years [16] [5] [6]. Available sources do not mention a single, across‑the‑board executive act between 2021–2024 that legally or practically eliminated all U.S. immigration enforcement at the southern border.