Has the Biden administration admitted more immigrants than previous presidents?
Executive summary
The Biden administration presided over record volumes of migrant encounters, parole admissions and naturalizations compared with recent presidencies, but whether it “admitted more immigrants” depends on which measure is used—parole and net inflows rose sharply under Biden, naturalizations reached historic highs, while removals and expulsions were also large and enforcement metrics vary by comparison method [1] [2] [3] [4]. Fact-checking and data analysts warn comparisons across administrations are sensitive to changing rules and different metrics, so simple yes/no claims are misleading [5] [6].
1. Border encounters and parole: the raw volumes that drive the “admitted” narrative
Since Biden took office, southwest border encounters ballooned to record levels—Migration Policy Institute reports at least 6.3 million encounters at and between ports of entry since January 2021, which MPI says resulted in more than 2.4 million migrants “allowed into the country,” and MPI’s broader tabulations indicate roughly 5.8 million were paroled or otherwise allowed to pursue immigration cases during the administration [1] [7]. These large operational figures are the basis for claims that his administration “admitted” more people than predecessors, but they reflect a mix of outcomes—expulsions, removals, paroles, releases and processing decisions—not a single immigration category [1] [7].
2. Legal immigration, naturalizations and program restorations: historic highs in some legal channels
On legal immigration and citizenship, MPI and other analyses record major gains: the administration rebuilt refugee resettlement to more than 100,000 in FY2024 and is estimated to have naturalized nearly 3.5 million people—“the most in any presidential term”—while also restoring and expanding work authorization lengths and other legal pathways curtailed during the pandemic and the prior administration [2] [7]. Those program-level recoveries mean Biden oversaw higher legal admissions and a surge in naturalizations compared with the immediately preceding years when pandemic rules and policy cuts depressed flows [2].
3. Deportations, expulsions and enforcement: numbers complicate the picture
Counting only removals and expulsions complicates any straight “admitted more” claim: MPI’s analysis combines deportations, expulsions and other returns and finds the administration’s nearly 4.4 million repatriations already exceed any single presidential term since the George W. Bush second term, and DHS data show periods when removals were high—indeed, some fact-checking finds removal percentages under Biden similar to or higher than under Trump in comparable slices of time [3] [5]. Independent trackers offer differing takes—TRAC reported at times that later administration removal rates fell below earlier peaks—illustrating how different time windows and definitions produce divergent conclusions [8].
4. Net immigration and population growth: Census and CBO context
Beyond administrative actions, demographic measures show substantial foreign‑born population growth during Biden’s term: Census tabulations point to a foreign‑born population rising to record levels and growth averaging far higher monthly since Biden took office compared with recent prior presidencies, and Visual Capitalist/CBO summaries indicate net immigration increased more under Biden through 2024 than under prior presidents in that window [4] [9]. Those net measures capture migration plus natural change and outmigration and therefore are the most direct indicators that more people have been added to the U.S. foreign‑born population during this period [4] [9].
5. Bottom line — a qualified answer
If “admitted” is read broadly to include parole programs, releases to pursue claims, restored legal admissions and record naturalizations, then the Biden administration oversaw larger inflows and legal admissions than recent predecessors and presided over historic naturalization and resettlement numbers [7] [2]. If “admitted” is limited to traditional visa-based lawful permanent resident admissions or if one focuses narrowly on removals and expulsions, the answer is more nuanced and depends on the metric and timeframe chosen; data collection changes since 2020 and varied enforcement practices mean cross-administration comparisons require careful definition and caveats [5] [6]. Reporters and fact-checkers caution that partisan shorthand—“Biden admitted more than previous presidents”—is accurate in some commonly used measures but misleading if presented without the definitional and temporal context [5] [6].