President Joe Biden leaves office with several immigration-related milestones, including the lowest number of deportations in a year, the highest number of border encounters in a year, and record fentanyl seizures.

Eager to shift from the previous White House’s hard-line policies on immigration violations, the Biden administration has begun developing a flurry of executive orders to transform enforcement operations. The Democratic president was largely successful in reducing enforcement in the early days of his administration, but ultimately triggered a border crisis that brought in the largest influx of foreigners in the country’s history, leaving him scrambling to change course. (Related: ‘This policy is dangerous’: Chicago Democrats fight to repeal city’s sanctuary law and support President Trump’s criminal deportation)

Roughly 11 million border encounters occurred between February 2021, Biden’s first full month in office, and December 2024, his last full month in office. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. As the border crisis that began on his watch continues, fiscal years 2023 and 2024 are each the worst in U.S. history for unacceptable border encounters.

“It’s a disaster,” Eric Ruark, research director for NumbersUSA, a Washington, D.C.-based immigration organization, told the Daily Caller News Foundation when asked to sum up Biden’s record at the border. “‘Historic’ is also a word I like to use.”

While many migrants were turned away or later deported, a significant number of asylum seekers were allowed to enter the country and were able to remain in the country.

A New York Times analysis found that Biden oversaw the largest net immigration in history, surpassing even the massive immigration boom experienced in the 1800s and early 1900s. The analysis also found that the majority of immigrants bound for the U.S. are illegal, with approximately 60% of immigrants entering the U.S. since 2021 doing so without authorization.

The influx of unauthorized immigrants and lack of domestic enforcement has led to an incredible increase in the illegal immigrant population. a June 2023 Report A study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform found that the illegal immigrant population is nearly 17 million people and costs American taxpayers about $150 billion annually.

Biden ultimately signed executive orders that have proven successful in reducing the number of asylum seekers showing up at the U.S.-Mexico border, but only in the final months of his term, and millions more This was after 100 foreigners had already entered the country.

Critics have consistently argued that the Biden administration fueled the border crisis early on with a series of executive actions that deliberately rolled back the security arrangements put in place by the first Trump administration. Mr. Biden signed a total of: 89 executive orders In his first year in office, he specifically rolled back Trump-era immigration policies and halted several notable Trump-era border policies, including the Remain in Mexico plan and halting construction of the border wall.

“I don’t know if Mr. Biden knew from day one what the policy would be and what the impact would be,” Ruark told DCNF. “Then the White House and the Secretary of Homeland Security spent more than three years telling the American people that the border was secure, and then they moved on to a campaign of ‘It’s all Trump’s fault.’

“There was no recognition of what happened, and more importantly, no recognition that it was their policies that caused this crisis,” Ruark continued.

Immediately after taking office, Biden signed a moratorium on nearly all deportations for his first 100 days in office. Although that order was ultimately overturned in court, he said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted 59,011 deportations in fiscal year 2021, the lowest number of undocumented immigrants in the agency’s history. succeeded in reducing it significantly.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas initially defended the Biden administration’s reforms to the immigration system.

“We have fundamentally changed inland immigration. For the first time, our policy clearly states that the illegal presence of a noncitizen in the United States is not, in and of itself, grounds for initiating a law enforcement action. ,” Mayorkas said. told CBS News. In January 2022, it issued a statement regarding new policies that limit the arrest and deportation of individuals based solely on their illegal status.

Mexican National Guard secures the area where an illegal tunnel bound for El Paso, U.S., was discovered at the Mexico-U.S. border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on January 10, 2025. (Photo by Herica Martinez/AFP) (Photo by Jerica Martinez/AFP) :HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Poor families in Latin America and around the world took notice of lax enforcement reforms, sparking an unprecedented migration to the U.S. border.

In 2023, well over 500,000 migrants will cross the Darien Gap, a vast jungle region between Colombia and southern Panama. This number was more than double the previous year. The majority of those crossing were from Venezuela, but also included Colombians, Ecuadorians, Chinese and other foreign nationals.

Southern border by the end of 2023 was average Approximately 6,000 alien encounters occur each day. To put it into perspective, former Obama administration Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said: in 2019 If the number of arrests exceeds 1,000 per day, “the system will be overwhelmed,” he said.

As the immigration crisis reached unprecedented levels, Americans became dissatisfied with Biden’s ability to control the border. By June 2024, only 29% of Americans expressed support for his actions on immigration, and the percentage of Americans supporting immigration reduction reached its highest level. in over 20 years And an overwhelming majority of Hispanics supported deporting all illegal immigrants from the United States.

The situation at the border was fueling a new crisis that had already been plaguing Americans for several years. CBP officials along the U.S.-Mexico border seized nearly every item. 27,000 pounds Fentanyl intake in 2023 was a record for authorities.

The crisis plaguing federal law enforcement officials along the southern border inevitably spilled over into the country, wreaking havoc on the humanitarian safety net established by major sanctuary cities.

Initially, New York City, Chicago, Denver, and other jurisdictions touted their cities as welcoming havens for illegal immigrants, but after spending billions of local taxpayer dollars and facing backlash from voters. After that, there was panic over cuts in migrant shelter services. Mayor Eric Adams has since moved dramatically to the right in opposition to sanctuary city policies, even demanding that New York City be allowed more cooperation with ICE.

The migrant crisis has also opened the door to Torren de Aragua, a ruthless migrant gang that first originated in Venezuelan prisons.

“The Biden administration’s failure to secure the border has allowed Torren de Aragua to establish a foothold in the United States,” former ICE Field Director John Fabricatore told DCNF. “Minimal testing has been authorized for countless criminals and gang members.”

“Sanctuary cities have strengthened that base, and the threat has now spread to more than 22 states without the Biden administration taking steps to stop it,” he continued.

Fabricatore is well aware of the brutality that gangs inflict on American communities. Close to home in Aurora, Colorado, members of the Torren de Aragua gang have occupied several apartment complexes and used them to carry out their crimes. In one instance, gang members were suspected of kidnapping a local couple and torturing them in one of the apartments they controlled.

The Department of Homeland Security now suspects there may be hundreds of immigrants in the United States with ties to Torren de Aragua. Since October 2022, ICE officers have arrested more than 100 individuals with suspected gang ties in connection with criminal activity.

President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in for a second term on Monday. Republicans have pledged an unprecedented focus on enforcement, promising sweeping deportations of illegal immigrants, especially those with criminal records or prior removal orders, reportedly According to , Republicans plan to sign the deal. 100 executive orders The first day of his administration.

Trump is expected to largely overshadow Biden’s immigration achievements with his own hard-line border policies, but experts also acknowledge that the outgoing Democrat left him with a difficult situation to clean up.

“President Trump will significantly reduce illegal immigration, but questions remain about what will be done with those who are allowed into the country under the Biden administration,” Ruark told DCNF. “Many of them were granted work permits, paroled, and even saw extended temporary protected status.”

“That’s a difficult challenge for the next administration,” he said.

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