Fact check: How many illegals crossed the borderduring bidens presidency

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, the data on illegal border crossings during Biden's presidency varies depending on the source and methodology used:

Highest estimate: U.S. Customs and Border Protection logged more than 7.8 million illegal border crossings, plus at least 1.5 million 'gotaways' (border crossers detected but never apprehended) since President Biden took office ^[1].

Official encounters data: Authorities carried out 8.6 million migrant encounters from January 2021 through October 2024, though many were repeat crossers, with the administration allowing over 5.8 million migrants to enter the country to pursue asylum applications and other immigration cases ^[2].

Daily crossing patterns: During many months of Biden's tenure, Border Patrol recorded more than 6,000 apprehensions each day, with daily illegal crossings peaking at over 10,000 on some days in late 2023 ^[3]. The Border Patrol was registering more than 2 million migrant encounters per year during the Biden administration ^[4].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several important contextual factors:

• Declining trend: Border encounters showed significant variation throughout Biden's presidency, with more than 137,000 encounters in March 2024 dropping to more than 47,000 in December 2024, indicating substantial decreases toward the end of his term ^[5].
• Policy responses: The Biden administration implemented various measures including executive actions to bar migrants crossing unlawfully from receiving asylum, and the Department of Homeland Security removed or returned more than 750,000 people ^[6].
• Definitional complexity: The distinction between "encounters," "apprehensions," and actual illegal entries is crucial but often conflated. Many encounters involve repeat crossers, and some migrants were allowed to enter legally to pursue asylum cases ^[2].
• Administrative actions: Biden signed proclamations to temporarily suspend entry of certain noncitizens due to high encounter numbers straining the immigration system ^[2].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains potentially problematic framing:

• Loaded terminology: The use of "illegals" as a noun is considered dehumanizing language by immigration advocates and may reflect bias toward viewing migrants primarily through a legal status lens rather than as individuals.
• Oversimplification: The question implies a simple numerical answer exists, when the reality involves complex distinctions between encounters, apprehensions, gotaways, repeat crossers, and those allowed to enter legally for asylum processing.
• Missing policy context: The framing ignores the policy evolution during Biden's presidency, including both the continuation of some Trump-era policies and the implementation of new border security measures that contributed to the declining numbers in 2024 ^{[5] [6]}.

The question appears designed to elicit a large number that could be used to criticize Biden's border policies, without acknowledging the complexity of immigration data or the policy responses implemented during his presidency.