Fact check: What were the immigration numbers under Trump compared to Biden's presidency?

1. Summary of the results

Under Biden's presidency (from February 2021 through October), there were 6.5 million border encounters, with approximately 2.5 million people released into the U.S. and 2.8 million removed or expelled ^[1]. This represents a significant increase from Trump's era, with border encounters being more than quadruple those during the Trump administration ^[2]. In 2023, there were 3.2 million encounters compared to Trump's peak year of 2019, which saw 1.4 million encounters ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial contextual points need to be considered:

• The total number of encounters does not equate to permanent entries into the U.S. ^[1]
• Under Biden's administration, over 1.4 million people were deported in 2022 alone, showing significant border control efforts ^[3]
• ICE removals under Biden (406,638 or 4.4%) are notably lower than under Trump (935,346 or 31.1%), despite higher overall migrant encounters ^[4]
• Of the 6.5 million encounters under Biden, 2.8 million were removed or expelled ^[1]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself oversimplifies a complex issue. Several potential biases need to be addressed:

• Republican politicians have made claims about much higher immigration numbers that are challenged by actual DHS data ^[1]
• Raw encounter numbers can be misleading without context about:
• The number of repeat encounters
• The number of actual admissions vs. expulsions
• The effectiveness of different enforcement strategies
• Different political groups benefit from different narratives:
• Conservative politicians benefit from emphasizing high encounter numbers
• The current administration benefits from highlighting deportation numbers and enforcement efforts
• Immigration advocacy groups benefit from focusing on humanitarian aspects and successful entries