Which president was in charge of vetting asylum seekers in the year 2024
Executive summary
In 2024 the sitting president who took executive steps to restrict asylum at the U.S.–Mexico border was President Joe Biden: his June 4, 2024 presidential proclamation and related DHS/DOJ rules temporarily limited asylum eligibility for many arrivals and tied access to appointment systems and encounter thresholds [1] [2]. Advocates and legal groups viewed these measures as a substantial narrowing of asylum access; other reporting and government fact sheets present them as necessary steps to reduce irregular crossings [3] [2].
1. Who issued the 2024 asylum‑related vetting and restrictions? — Biden’s June proclamation and related rules
President Joe Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation on June 4, 2024 that “temporarily suspend[ed] the entry of noncitizens across the southern border” and a joint DHS–DOJ interim final rule that restricted asylum eligibility for many who enter irregularly; DHS’s fact sheet describes the proclamation and IFR as the government’s actions to make irregular entrants ineligible for asylum with certain exceptions [1]. DHS later issued a final rule and claimed the joint actions reduced encounters by over 55% in a specified period [2].
2. What did the policies do in practice? — Appointment requirements, caps and expedited removal
The June proclamation and the accompanying rules tied asylum access to appointments (such as CBP One) and set encounter‑based thresholds and caps; when encounters exceeded certain daily levels, asylum processing could be suspended until levels fell below the threshold for a designated period, and screening standards for protections were raised [3] [1] [4]. Advocacy groups and professional associations criticized these as effectively barring many people from applying for asylum at ports of entry [5] [3].
3. Government rationale vs. advocacy and legal pushback
The Biden administration framed the measures as emergency tools to address high volumes and to “deliver timely consequences,” including expedited removals for those who do not qualify for protection; DHS cited sharp reductions in between‑port‑of‑entry crossings after the June measures [1] [2]. Immigrant‑rights lawyers and organizations counter that the statute obligates the government to allow anyone physically present to apply for asylum and that the president’s invocation of INA Section 212(f) cannot lawfully suspend that right — leading to lawsuits and legal challenges [6] [5].
4. Longer arc: continuity and change across administrations
Restrictions on asylum access predate 2024 and were a focus of both administrations: the Biden measures built on a 2023 “asylum ban” that limited eligibility for those who transited third countries or lacked CBP One appointments [7]. Separately, former President Trump’s policies — including “metering,” Title 42 expulsions earlier in the pandemic era, and later second‑term proclamations and rules described in 2025 reporting — show that asylum processing has been repeatedly modified by executive action and contested in courts [8] [9] [10].
5. Practical effects on asylum seekers — legal limbo, restricted paths, and exceptions
Advocates report that the June 2024 proclamation and its September tightening left many asylum seekers in legal limbo, unable to access durable pathways or family reunification and forced to attempt limited protections or alternatives; some humanitarian groups urged expanding CBP One capacity and port processing instead of outright suspensions [3]. DHS notes some exceptions in its rules but emphasizes expedited enforcement and removal authority when processing is suspended [1] [2].
6. What remains in dispute and what reporting does not settle
Key legal questions—whether the president can lawfully suspend the statutory right to seek asylum under Section 212(f), and whether metering or appointment regimes violate federal asylum law—remain contested in courts and in academic/legal commentary [6] [5]. Available sources do not mention final Supreme Court resolution of the June 2024 proclamation [6] [10]. Different sources frame the same numbers (e.g., encounter reductions) as policy successes (DHS) or as outcomes of unlawful restrictions (advocates) [2] [3].
7. Bottom line for your original question
If by “which president was in charge of vetting asylum seekers in the year 2024” you mean who issued the major executive actions that restricted and restructured asylum access at the southern border in 2024, the answer in available reporting is President Joe Biden — via a June 4, 2024 presidential proclamation and related DHS/DOJ rules that limited asylum eligibility and tied processing to appointment and encounter thresholds [1] [2]. Sources record substantial legal and advocacy pushback arguing these measures unlawfully curtailed the statutory right to seek asylum [6] [5].