# Reversing Trump-Era Immigration Policy & the Border Surge

> On day one and the weeks after, Biden unwound much of the Trump immigration architecture: EO 13993 narrowed interior enforcement priorities.

Joe Biden · Immigration · Executive Order · EO 13993 · Jan 20, 2021
Official record: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2021-01768

## What happened

On day one and the weeks after, Biden unwound much of the Trump immigration architecture: EO 13993 narrowed interior enforcement priorities, companion orders (14010, 14011, 14012) targeted the 'root causes' of migration and rebuilt the legal-immigration and refugee systems, and the administration wound down the 'Remain in Mexico' (MPP) program before letting the Title 42 pandemic expulsion authority end in May 2023.

## How it happened

A cluster of Inauguration-week executive orders plus DHS policy changes; several pieces (ending MPP, the parole programs) were litigated for years.

## Documented impact

- [positive / substantiated] Ended hardline measures and restored access to asylum and refugee resettlement. — Interior enforcement was refocused on security and public-safety threats, refugee admissions were rebuilt, and a task force worked to reunify families separated under the prior 'zero tolerance' policy.
- [negative / substantiated] Border encounters rose to the highest levels on record. — Southwest border encounters reached ~1.73M (FY2021), ~2.38M (FY2022), and an all-time high of ~2.48M (FY2023) per CBP, with nationwide encounters topping 10 million over the term — straining border communities, shelters, and big cities that received arrivals.
- [negative / substantiated] Immigration became Biden's worst-polling issue by a wide margin. — By early 2024 roughly 26% approved and about 71% disapproved of his handling of immigration (Monmouth), a gap that persisted for most of the term.
- [negative / contested] Widely cited as a major factor in the Democrats' 2024 defeat. — Immigration ranked among voters' top issues and Trump held a large polling edge on it; how decisive it actually was in the election outcome is debated among analysts.

## Public opinion

Handling of immigration

Approve: 26% · Disapprove: 71%

Immigration was consistently Biden's weakest issue; approval recovered somewhat only after the June 2024 border crackdown.

Source: Monmouth University, Feb 2024

## Sources

- [Federal Register: EO 13993](https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2021-01768)
- [CBP: nationwide encounters](https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters)
- [Migration Policy Institute: FY2024 encounters plunge](https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/fy2024-us-border-encounters-plunge)

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Canonical: https://eo.alanwizemann.com/eo/biden/reversing-trump-era-immigration-policy-and-the-border-surge