How do U.S. border enforcement statistics under Biden compare to previous administrations?
Executive summary
Border encounters rose sharply during President Biden’s term, with public figures citing as many as “more than 7.8 million” crossings and averages near 160,000 monthly encounters, while DHS and CBP data show encounters can fall quickly after policy shifts; DHS says Biden-era measures cut southwest border encounters by over 50% in six weeks and reported lower daily averages by January 2025 [1] [2] [3] [4]. Comparisons between administrations are contested: Trump and Republican sources claim an immediate historic drop after January 2025, while fact-checkers and analysts say longer-term trends began before Trump’s term and that short windows can mislead [5] [6] [7].
1. Numbers tell different stories depending on the window chosen
Federal encounter metrics come from CBP’s live dashboards and DHS monthly tables and can be presented as daily, monthly, fiscal‑year, or cumulative totals; for example CBP reports encounter categories on the Southwest Land Border and Nationwide pages [8] [9], while advocacy and congressional offices have cited multi‑million cumulative figures for the Biden years [1]. That means headline comparisons — “monthly average under Biden nearly 160,000” versus “106,134 encounters in nine months under Trump” — reflect different time frames and definitions, and are repeated by both administrations [2] [5].
2. Administration claims and political messaging diverge from independent context
The Trump administration and allied Republican offices framed the early months of the Trump term as producing the “most secure border in history” and emphasized dramatic month‑to‑month drops in encounters [5] [2] [7]. Independent news and fact‑checks caution that many declines began earlier — for example, PBS reported that illegal crossings began falling in March 2024, and that Biden policy changes in mid‑2024 also produced sharp reductions [6]. In short, political messaging credits the incumbent administration for rapid change while outside analysts point to preexisting trends [5] [6].
3. Policy actions produced measurable short‑term effects, per DHS
DHS and the Biden administration point to specific policy tools — Presidential Proclamation 10773, interim/final DHS‑DOJ asylum rules, and enhanced enforcement — and to an internal fact sheet asserting encounters cut by over 50% in six weeks after those measures [3] [4]. DHS statistics also note a tripling of expedited removals and lower seven‑day averages in January 2025 compared with January 2021, using agency data to show enforcement changes had measurable impact [4].
4. Independent data show broader trends not wholly explained by a single transition
Non‑government trackers and analysts report that the decline in migration flows began before the January 2025 presidential transition and that drug seizures and other indicators fell earlier as well; WOLA and PBS reporting both note that the drop in encounters and in some seizures started in mid‑2023 through 2024, so attributing all change to a single administration’s first weeks is inaccurate [10] [6].
5. Different metrics matter: encounters, apprehensions, “gotaways,” and removals
Key comparisons hinge on distinct measures: CBP “encounters” aggregate USBP Title 8 apprehensions, OFO inadmissibles, and Title 42 expulsions [8] [9]. Senatorial and advocacy claims also use “gotaways” and cumulative totals (e.g., “more than 7.8 million” crossings and “1.5 million gotaways” cited by Senator Cornyn), which are not directly equivalent to published annual apprehension totals [1]. Meanwhile ICE and DHS removal and detention numbers shifted across administrations; MPI and Migration Policy reporting note changes in the mix of interior arrests and removals [11].
6. What data do and don’t show — and the reporting gaps
Available DHS and CBP dashboards provide granular encounter and seizure data [12] [8] [9], and OHSS monthly tables add enforcement, detention and removal breakdowns [13]. But DHS releases have been selective at times, and analysts warn that incomplete, lagged, or differently‑defined datasets complicate neat apples‑to‑apples comparisons across administrations [11]. Fact‑checking outlets explicitly state that short‑term snapshots can mislead without multi‑year context [6].
7. Bottom line for readers
If your question is who had “higher” or “lower” numbers, the answer depends on which metric and which time window you use: Biden‑era years included some of the highest annual encounter totals and very high monthly averages [2] [1], while DHS and other reporting document large declines tied to specific policy changes beginning mid‑2024 that continued into early 2025 and were amplified in the early Trump months [3] [4] [5]. Independent fact‑checking and policy researchers caution against attributing multi‑year trends solely to the most recent weeks in office [6] [10].
Limitations: This analysis uses the provided CBP/DHS pages, congressional and advocacy statements, and contemporary journalism/fact‑checks; underlying raw data and full OHSS monthly tables exist but are not exhaustively quoted here [12] [13].