(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The New York Times admitted on Sunday what conservative outlets have reported all along: the Biden administration’s open-border policy was intentional.
In a scathing report, the leftist newspaper acknowledged that former President Joe Biden ignored warnings from his advisers during the 2020-2021 transition that his immigration proposals would trigger “chaos” at the southern border.
According to the report, the White House rebuffed those warnings amid concerns that Latino voters would be alienated. The Times noted:
“Mr. Biden’s record found that he and his closest advisers repeatedly rebuffed recommendations that could have addressed the border crisis faster, and eased what became a potent issue for Mr. Trump as he sought to return to the White House and justify the aggressive tactics roiling American cities today.”
The paper added:
“Yet as public concern over border security grew, partly in response to Mr. Biden’s own actions, his administration proved catastrophically slow to change course, former aides said. The president and his closest aides treated immigration as a distraction from other issues, such as the coronavirus pandemic and the economy.”
The consequences were nearly immediate, with Biden pausing deportations for 100 days, sending an amnesty bill to Congress, halting border wall construction, limiting law enforcement operations and canceling the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy.
At the same time, Biden’s team limited the use of Title 42, one of the tools used to allow rapid removals of foreign nationals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Times also reported that Biden layered so-called legal pathways for illegal aliens to enter the country.
Those initiatives included Operation Allies Welcome, which expedited the admittance of Afghan nationals after Biden’s disastrous 2021 withdrawal, and C.H.N.V., a parole program that allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the U.S. through sponsors and parole. CBP One app was central to these programs, the outlet added.
These lenient policies caused Border Patrol to endure the highest numbers of border encounters in U.S. history.
A staggering 3.2 million nationwide encounters occurred in Fiscal Year 2023, the highest number recorded. The worst month came in December 2023, when agents logged roughly 370,000 encounters.
By contrast, the lowest monthly total occurred in June 2025 under Trump, when Border Patrol recorded 25,432 encounters nationwide. Fiscal Year 2025 ended with 237,565 total encounters.
