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Has the Biden administration 'let in' more undocumented immigrants than there are people living in Wisconsin?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
NO

U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped about 5.62 million undocumented immigrants attempting to enter the country legally or illegally between January 2021 and January 2023. Wisconsin had an estimated population of 5.9 million in 2022.

Immigrants intentionally "let in" under the Biden administration include those granted asylum or waiting for an asylum hearing. In 2021, the latest data year available, 17,692 people were granted asylum. Currently, 1.6 million asylum seekers are awaiting adjudication.

Additionally, federal law requires the Office of Refugee Resettlement to house unaccompanied migrant children until they turn 18 or can be released to a sponsor. Nearly 130,000 such minors entered the shelter system in 2022, according to CBS.

While it is not possible to measure illegal immigration that has gone undetected, CBP confirmed to Newsweek that in fiscal year 2022, there were an estimated 600,000 "got-aways," or unlawful entrants identified but not apprehended.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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