A careful answer is that Biden did not “allow in” one single fixed number , because the total depends on whether you mean legal immigration, asylum seekers, parole entries, or unauthorized border crossings. One widely cited analysis says his administration paroled in or otherwise allowed about 5.8 million asylum seekers and other migrants over four years, while other claims that he “allowed in 20 million” are described as misleading.

What that number means

  • 5.8 million refers to people the administration “paroled in or otherwise allowed” to enter to pursue asylum or other immigration cases, according to Migration Policy Institute analysis cited in 2024.
  • That is not the same thing as total immigrants who came to the U.S. under Biden, and it is not the same thing as illegal entries.
  • Public fact checks also note that border encounters do not equal successful entries.

Why people disagree

  • Some people are talking about legal immigration overall.
  • Others mean migrants processed at the border , including asylum seekers and parolees.
  • Others are referring to unauthorized immigration , where estimates and yearly changes are tracked differently and can be much smaller than viral claims suggest.

Simple takeaway

If you want the shortest honest answer: about 5.8 million migrants were paroled in or otherwise allowed in under Biden, but there is no single agreed “immigrants allowed in” number because the phrase mixes different categories.