Fact check: How many immigrants entered the US during the Biden administration

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, the Biden administration oversaw significant immigration numbers during its tenure. Multiple sources consistently report that approximately 10.8 to 11 million border encounters occurred during Biden's four-year term ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

The key figures include:

• 5.8 million asylum seekers and other migrants were paroled in or allowed to enter the United States to pursue asylum or other immigration cases ^{[4] [5]}
• 8.6 million migrant encounters were recorded at the U.S.-Mexico border specifically ^[4]
• Nearly 3.5 million immigrants were granted U.S. citizenship during this period ^{[4] [5]}
• Over 8.72 million encounters occurred at the Southwest border alone since Fiscal Year 2021 ^[1]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks important contextual distinctions that significantly impact the interpretation of these numbers:

• "Encounters" versus actual entries: The analyses reveal that border encounters don't necessarily equal permanent entries, as many individuals may be turned away or deported ^[6]. This distinction is crucial for understanding the actual immigration impact.
• Different categories of immigrants: The data encompasses various types of immigration including asylum seekers, legal immigrants granted citizenship, and unauthorized border crossers, which represent fundamentally different immigration processes ^{[4] [5]}.
• Administrative versus enforcement perspective: Republican-controlled sources like the House Committee on Homeland Security emphasize the crisis narrative and inadequate vetting ^{[1] [3]}, while the Department of Homeland Security frames recent developments as creating "the most secure border in American history" ^[2]. These competing narratives serve different political interests.
• Policy continuity context: The analyses don't provide comparative data from previous administrations, making it difficult to assess whether these numbers represent an increase, decrease, or continuation of historical trends.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question, while seemingly neutral, contains potential for misinterpretation:

• Lack of definitional clarity: The question doesn't specify whether it seeks data on legal immigrants, asylum seekers, unauthorized entries, or total encounters, allowing for selective use of statistics to support different political narratives.
• Conflation risk: Without proper context, the various categories of immigration data could be conflated to either inflate or minimize the actual impact of Biden administration policies.
• Political framing opportunity: Both pro-immigration and anti-immigration advocates could benefit from selectively citing these numbers - immigration restrictionists could emphasize the 10.8+ million encounters figure to argue for stricter policies, while immigration advocates could highlight the 3.5 million citizenship grants to demonstrate successful legal immigration processing.
• Missing comparative analysis: The question doesn't request historical context, which could lead to misleading conclusions about whether these numbers represent typical, elevated, or reduced immigration levels compared to previous administrations.