Fact check: How many illegal immigrants did Biden allow in the US?

1. What supporters of the claim point to: raw encounter counts that look enormous

Reports from oversight and congressional committees present large encounter totals as evidence the administration "allowed" mass arrivals. A House Committee report summarized more than 10.8 million encounters nationwide since FY2021, with over 8.72 million at the Southwest border and breakdowns of single adults, family members, and unaccompanied children included; it also highlights cases of national-security concern among apprehensions ^[1]. Advocates of the claim also emphasize program-specific releases, noting more than 1.4 million released through CBP One and CHNV parole programs, and allege millions more were released without full vetting, framing release numbers as de facto admissions ^[1]. These government-collected encounter tallies are concrete administrative counts, which make them rhetorically powerful for critics but they do not alone establish how many people remain in the country long-term.

2. What independent researchers and demographers report: population-level context

Independent centers and demographers present a different picture focused on the stock of people living in the U.S. rather than encounter flows. Pew Research Center and media summaries reported that the undocumented population reached about 14 million in 2023, a record high driven by several factors including protections and rising arrivals, with a significant subset estimated to have deportation protections or pending asylum claims under Biden policies ^{[2] [3]}. Migration Policy Center commentary also counts the Biden presidency as administratively active on immigration and references over 2.4 million migrants allowed into the country since January 2021 in its policy-context analysis ^[4]. These population estimates synthesize multiple data sources and reflect both arrivals and settlement trends, but they cannot be reduced to a single number attributable to one administration's actions.

3. Why these numbers diverge: definitions, timeframes, and administrative categories

Differences stem from what is being counted: encounters (momentary contacts or apprehensions), releases (temporary parole, CBP One, or other programmatic admits), and the unauthorized population living in the U.S. long-term reflect separate processes. For example, CBP's Encounter metric records every removable-alien contact, which can double- or triple-count repeat crossers or multiple encounters for single individuals, while population estimates aim to measure unique persons living in the country ^{[5] [6]}. Timeframes also vary — some tallies start at FY2021, others use calendar years or single-year snapshots — producing large differences in summed totals. The House report frames releases as purposeful admissions, while independent demographers treat legal status and protection designations differently, creating different narratives from the same underlying data ^{[1] [2]}.

4. What the different sources say about trends: peaks, declines, and program effects

Recent analyses show both large cumulative counts and recent declines depending on the window. The House report highlights cumulative FY2021–FY2024 encounter volumes exceeding 10.8 million, stressing continuing strain at the Southwest border ^[1]. By contrast, Pew analysis documented a sharp decline in migrant encounters in 2024, noting a 77% drop from December 2023 to August 2024 and declines among key nationalities, signaling that flows are variable and responsive to enforcement, policy, and external conditions ^[7]. CBP's FY2024 enforcement statistics also show year-to-year movement with total encounters for that fiscal year recorded around 2.9 million, illustrating that year-specific totals can be far lower than cumulative multi-year counts ^[6].

5. Bottom line: no single definitive "allowed" number — and why context matters

There is no single, administration-responsible tally that equates to "illegal immigrants allowed" because policy actions, legal processes, and measurement methods differ. Administrative encounter totals since FY2021 exceed 10.8 million, independent estimates place the unauthorized resident population near 14 million in 2023, and program release figures account for millions processed or paroled under specific initiatives — each is factually true within its definition but answers different questions ^{[1] [2]}. Evaluating responsibility requires distinguishing between temporary encounters, legal admissions, parole decisions, and the stock of unauthorized residents; finding policy accountability depends on parsing those separate datasets and recognizing that raw counts alone do not settle the political claim.