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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Has 'illegal immigration' risen 400% under the Biden Administration?

By Austin Tannenbaum
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NO

There is no measure of illegal immigration per se, as people who enter the U.S. undetected cannot be recorded. Estimated successful unlawful entries have trended downward and remain low due to an increase in Border Patrol agents initiated by George W. Bush.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection keeps a tally of undocumented immigrants attempting to enter the country both legally and illegally who are encountered at the border and denied entry. Such attempts have risen considerably: CBP recorded 1,956,519 border "enforcement actions" in fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 to September 2021) compared with 646,822 in fiscal year 2020 (October 2019 to September 2020) — an increase of about 300%. So far in fiscal year 2022, there have been more than 1.2 million enforcement actions.

COVID-19 lockdowns and Trump's decision to shut down the border are thought to have reduced immigration attempts in fiscal year 2020. Attempted entries spiked after lockdowns across Central America were lifted. Trump-era policies incentivized migrants to attempt entry repeatedly, adding to the total.

The American Immigration Council noted that "migration increased across the entire hemisphere in 2021" due to factors such as food instability, violence and political persecution.

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This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Customs and Border Protection CBP Enforcement Statistics Fiscal Year 2022
American Immigration Council Rising Border Encounters in 2021: An Overview and Analysis
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.