Fact check: Immigrants entering us under biden

1. What people are claiming and why it matters: Extracting the central assertions

The assembled materials advance three central claims: that the Biden administration presided over record or very high numbers of unlawful border encounters; that some periods saw substantial drops in crossings and apprehensions; and that the total immigrant population declined in 2025. Sources couch these in different metrics—cumulative encounter counts, annual apprehensions, and population estimates—so the headline “immigrants entering” conflates heterogeneous flows such as asylum seekers, repeat crossers, lawful admissions, and designated temporary protected populations ^{[2] [4] [3] [1]}. Understanding policy implications requires separating those streams.

2. The “most in U.S. history” border encounters claim: data and limits

One source reports roughly 14 million illegal border crossers during the Biden-Harris administration through 2024, framed as the most in U.S. history; that figure aggregates multiple fiscal years and includes repeated encounters and expulsions, not unique migrants ^[2]. That aggregation inflates the impression of distinct individuals entering. Other official and media summaries show dramatic month‑to‑month variance—for example, a peak period followed by enforcement changes and protocols that reduced daily crossings. The single aggregated number omits recidivism, expulsions, and programmatic changes that alter encounter counts ^{[2] [4]}.

3. Reports of large declines in specific years or administrations: how metrics differ

Several pieces report steep declines in unlawful crossings in specific windows—apprehensions falling to the lowest annual level since 1970 in 2025 or a 78% fall from a December record due to policy crackdowns ^{[5] [4]}. Those accounts focus on annual or monthly apprehension totals at the southern border and may attribute causality to distinct enforcement or policy actions. Such year‑to‑year comparisons are valid but narrow: they do not capture other flows like non‑Mexican migrant surges, legal admissions, or humanitarian designations that alter net population dynamics ^{[5] [4]}.

4. The 2025 immigrant population decline: scope, sources, and caveats

Pew‑style reporting and related coverage state the U.S. immigrant population fell from 53.3 million to 51.9 million between January and June 2025, a first decline in over 50 years, attributing causes to policy changes, enforcement, and global mobility shifts ^{[3] [6]}. This is a population estimate, not an apprehension or admission count, and it reflects net changes: arrivals minus departures, return migration, and mortality. The analysis notes California as particularly affected. Population estimates rely on survey and administrative data subject to lags and methodology differences, so short‑term swings may reflect measurement as well as real flows ^[3].

5. Temporary protections and legal status changes complicate the picture

Other reporting documents Biden administration actions granting or extending temporary protected status to nearly 1 million people from countries such as Venezuela, El Salvador, Sudan, and Ukraine, affecting who is considered “in” the U.S. legally ^[1]. These protections do not equate to border crossings but increase the count of people authorized to remain and work. Administrative changes to H‑1B, EB visas, or regulatory agendas also shift legal immigration volumes over time. Counting “immigrants entering” without distinguishing temporary protections, lawful permanent residents, or unauthorized border crossings obscures the true policy effects ^{[1] [7]}.

6. Reconciling contradictions: different lenses, different narratives

The apparent contradiction—aggregate high encounter totals versus sharp annual declines and a falling immigrant population—resolves when recognizing different metrics and timeframes. Aggregated encounter tallies over years can be high even if annual apprehensions fall after policy shifts; meanwhile, a net population decline can occur due to decreased arrivals, increased departures, or tightened legal pathways. Each source emphasizes different aspects: enforcement counts ^{[2] [4]}, annual comparisons ^[5], population estimates ^[3], and administrative protections ^[1]. Policymakers and observers should state which metric they mean.

7. Missing context, uncertainties, and what to watch next

Key omissions include breakdowns by nationality, repeat encounters, asylum claims versus expulsions, lawful admissions, and the role of court rulings or international events that drive flows. Sources span dates through mid‑2025 and October–November 2025, so recent policy shifts (DHS regulatory agendas, temporary protections) matter for near‑term trends ^{[7] [1]}. Future shifts in border enforcement, court decisions, or global crises will change numbers, and transparency on unique individuals versus encounters is essential for accurate public debate.