Immigration policy of the Joe Biden administration

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President Joe Biden receives an operational briefing from U.S. Border Patrol, USCIS and ICE at the Brownsville Border Patrol Station on February 29, 2024.

The immigration policy of American President Joseph Biden initially focused on reversing many of the immigration policies of the previous Trump administration, before implementing stricter enforcement mechanisms later in his term.

During his first day in office, Biden unveiled the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 and reversed many of Trump's policies on immigration, such as halting the construction of the Mexican border wall, travel ban, and signed an executive order to reaffirm protections for DACA recipients.[1][2][3] The Biden administration and Department of Homeland Security, under leadership of Alejandro Mayorkas, reined in deportation practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prioritizing national security and violent crime concerns over petty and nonviolent offenses.[4]

Between January 2021 and January 2024, US Border Patrol confirmed more than 7.2 million illegal migrants trying to cross the US-Mexico border, not counting gotaways.[5][6][7] 2023 was a record year with over 2.5 million encounters.[8] Biden faced criticism from immigrant advocates for extending Title 42, a Trump administration border restriction that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as restarting the use of "expedited removal" of certain Central American families.[9] In January 2023, Biden announced a humanitarian parole program to increase the admission of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, while also announcing that his administration would crack down on those who fail to use the plan's legal pathway and strengthen border security.[10] Nearly 530,000 migrants took advantage of the parole program as of August 2024.[11] Biden also launched the CBP One app in January 2023 to allow migrants to schedule asylum appointments online, which has been used by 813,000 people as of August 2024.[11][12] In May 2023, the Biden Administration approved sending 1,500 more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border following Title 42's expiration.[13][14]

On June 23, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Biden administration immigration policy which involves the deportation of people deemed public safety threats or who were picked up at the border could be enforced.[15] A separate ruling upheld the prosecution of people who encourage illegal immigration.[16] On June 4, 2024, Biden passed an executive order to shut down the border if illegal crossings reached an average of 2,500 migrants a day in a given week.[17] Migrant encounters subsequently dropped down to 2020 levels.[18][19]

  1. ^ Narea, Nicole (20 January 2021). "Biden is already rolling back Trump's immigration legacy". Vox. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  2. ^ Bradner, Eric; Klein, Betsy (January 20, 2021). "Biden targets Trump's legacy with first-day executive actions". CNN. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Miroff, Nick; Sacchetti, Maria (February 7, 2021). "New Biden rules for ICE point to fewer arrests and deportations, and a more restrained agency that allows for a higher influx of migrants from Latin America". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  5. ^ Miroff, Nick; Sacchetti, Maria; Frostenson, Sarah (2024-02-11). "Trump vs. Biden on immigration: 12 charts comparing U.S. border security". Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-09-01. Illegal border crossings soared to record levels under President Biden, averaging 2 million per year from 2021 to 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference i231 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Gramlich, John; Scheller, Alissa. "What's happening at the U.S.-Mexico border in 7 charts". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  8. ^ Garsd, Jasmine (2023-12-22). "An unprecedented year in immigration, and in anti-immigration rhetoric". NPR. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  9. ^ Narea, Nicole (2021-08-04). "Biden's immigration policy isn't Trump's — but it's still a disappointment". Vox. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  10. ^ Ward, Myah (5 January 2022). "Biden announces new program to curb illegal migration as he prepares for visit to border". Politico. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Arrests for illegal border crossings jump 3% in August, suggesting decline may be bottoming out". ABC News. 2024-09-16. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  12. ^ Solis, Gustavo (2024-06-19). "An already glitchy app could worsen migrant plight under Biden's new asylum actions". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  13. ^ Griffin, Jennifer; Friden, Liz; Pandolfo, Chris (2 May 2023). "Biden administration approves sending 1,500 US troops to Mexico border as Title 42 deadline looms: sources". Fox News. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  14. ^ Bertrand, Natasha; Alvarez, Priscilla; Britzky, Haley (2 May 2023). "Biden admin to send 1,500 troops to southern border for support roles ahead of expected migrant surge". CNN. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Supreme Court rejects a lawsuit from states demanding that Biden administration boost deportations". ABC News.
  16. ^ Chung, Andrew (June 23, 2023). "U.S. Supreme Court upholds law against encouraging illegal immigration". Reuters. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  17. ^ Aleaziz, Hamed (June 4, 2024). "How Biden's Asylum Order Works". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  18. ^ "Border arrests drop 33% to a 46-month low in July after asylum restrictions take hold". The Associated Press. August 16, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  19. ^ Montoya-Galvez, Camilo (2024-08-01). "Unlawful border crossings drop for 5th straight month, reaching lowest level since September 2020". CBS News. Retrieved 2024-09-04.