The president’s power when it comes to immigration is extensive
By Steven A. Camarota on November 4, 2024
Although Congress sets immigration law, the administration and enforcement of those laws is the responsibility of the executive. The most recent data from the American Community Survey confirms that presidents do have a significant impact on the number of new immigrants who settle in the country. The Census Bureau is clear that immigrants captured in its surveys, who are typically referred to by the government as the “foreign born,” include all persons who were not U.S. citizens at birth — mainly naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, long-term temporary visitors, and illegal immigrants.
The figure shows the combined number of legal and illegal immigrants settling in the U.S. each year based on the American Community Survey (ACS), although the actual number is higher because the survey misses some immigrants. Like other Census Bureau data and border encounters, the ACS shows that immigration fell during the Trump administration, even though the pre-Covid economy was strong. The number of new arrivals then exploded to unprecedented levels under Biden, as his administration repealed Trump’s policies.
Using the immigrant unemployment rate shown in the figure as a rough proxy for the state of the economy, or at the very least the desire of employers to hire immigrants, we see evidence that the level of new immigration varies to some extent with economic conditions. But under President Trump the number of newcomers slowed significantly even as immigrant unemployment fell before Covid. This almost certainly represents a drop in new illegal immigrants and a falloff in refugee resettlement and other forms of legal immigration.
The dramatic increase in new arrivals post-Covid shown in the data almost certainly reflects, at least in part, the president’s campaign promises that created the perception, before he took office, that he would reduce enforcement. Ending the Migrant Protection Protocols for asylum applicants, and scaling back Title 42, then ending it all together, encouraged illegal immigration. The Biden administration’s decision to end the Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Central American countries and to curtail detention and expedited removal at the border also likely helped spur illegal immigration. At the same time, the administration significantly increased refugee resettlement after the Trump administration had reduced it.
The president’s power when it comes to immigration is extensive, and the policies and procedures adopted by each administration play a large role in how many settle in the country, even if the underlying law remains unchanged.
