Joe Biden · Democratic · Proclamation
The 2024 Asylum Crackdown ('Securing the Border')
Jun 4, 2024
Joe BidenImmigrationProclamationTerm (2021–25)
📜 View the official record on federalregister.gov
What happened
Facing record crossings and an election-year backlash, Biden issued a June 2024 proclamation and rule that largely shut off asylum for migrants crossing illegally once daily encounters topped a threshold (2,500), reopening only when they fell below 1,500 — a sharp reversal of his own earlier posture, using the same Section 212(f) authority Trump had used.
How it happened
A presidential proclamation paired with a DHS/DOJ interim final rule; immediately challenged in court by immigrant-rights groups.
Documented impact
Positive impactsubstantiated
Border crossings dropped sharply and stayed down.
June 2024 Border Patrol encounters fell to ~83,500, down 29% from May and the lowest monthly total since January 2021; the decline held through the rest of the year, aided by stepped-up Mexican enforcement.
Mixed impactsubstantiated
Improved Biden's standing on immigration without resolving it.
His immigration approval ticked up to a one-year high (~35%), and a Monmouth poll found 40% favored the order versus 27% opposed — but it remained a net-negative issue for him.
Negative impactcontested
Criticized as gutting asylum and as an election-year about-face.
Immigrant-rights groups and some Democrats called it a border 'shutdown' (most experts said it stopped short of that), and noted it undid much of his own day-one approach; legal challenges followed.
Public opinion
📊 Public opinion
The June 2024 border/asylum order
Favor40%
Oppose27%
A plurality favored the crackdown, and it nudged Biden's immigration approval to a one-year high.
Sources
Every claim above links to its source. Primary record and cited reporting: