A wave of illegal immigration under President Joe Biden’s term has contributed to a record number of foreign-born people living in the United States, a new study shows.
The United States now has 13.7 million illegal immigrants in America and 3.7 million of them have entered since Biden took office in January 2021, according to a new study. study by the Center for Immigration Studies.
Overall, the total foreign-born population — both legal and illegal — reached a new record of 51.4 million in February 2024, up from 6.4 million under Biden.
Illegal immigration and border security have become a hot political issue as the incumbent president seeks a second term. Voters have given him low marks for his handling of the issue, polls show.
Biden visited the border in Brownsville, Texas, last month, marking the second time he has visited the U.S.-Mexico dividing line since taking office.
Meanwhile, the study also found that the total population of foreign-born people in America is increasing by an average of 172,000 per month.
That’s four times the average monthly increase of 42,000 under President Donald Trump before Covid-19 hit, and double the average of 68,000 under President Barack Obama.
In February, the foreign-born population in the United States reached a new record of 51.4 million people, or 15.5 percent of the U.S. population, exceeding all previous records.
The foreign-born share of the U.S. population has more than tripled since 1970, nearly doubled since 1990, and has only increased 40 percent since 2000.
The new investigation comes as a migrant caravan of more than 2,000 people left Chiapas, Mexico, earlier this week, headed for the El Paso border area.
The Way of the Cross caravan is organized by Mexican activists in Chiapas to ensure the safety of the migrants, who are often taken advantage of by criminals and authorities.
“Migrants have no choice but to walk as part of a group or hitch a ride in a trailer, which could mean their death,” Luis Villagran, an organizer at the Center for Human Dignity, told Telemundo.
Biden, meanwhile, has blamed Republicans and his presidential rival Donald Trump for the border crisis.
At a fundraiser in Texas last week, Biden blasted Trump for the problems at the border.
Trump has not only brought chaos to Americans. He also brought chaos to the U.S. border,” Biden said.
He accused the former president of trying to kill a bipartisan border bill in Congress by speaking out against it. It passed the Senate, but House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to bring it up after Trump announced his opposition.
The bill included more than $20 billion for border security, which would add new Customs and Border Patrol agents, add more asylum officers to lengthen process times, and add more immigration judges.
Conservative Republicans argued that the bill is not strong enough.
More than 2,000 migrants walk in the ‘Way of the Cross’ caravan on their way to the US border near El Paso
President Joe Biden visited the US border in Brownsville, Texas last month – voters give him low marks for his handling of border security and immigration
The caravan left Chiapas, Mexico, earlier this week and was put together by organizers concerned about the safety of migrants as they made their way through Mexico.
Trump, meanwhile, has pledged to implement a range of policies, including reinstating and expanding his travel ban on people entering the US from certain Muslim countries; carrying out what he calls the largest deportation operation in the country’s history; and continued building its southern border wall.
“We’re going to make things right,” Trump has said.
Voters have become increasingly concerned about the border.
According to a February Gallup poll, 28% of Americans say immigration is the most important issue, up from 20% in January.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll from January showed Biden with just 18% approval for his handling of immigration at the southern border.