An unprecedented year in immigration, and in anti-immigration rhetoric

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, federal agents encountered roughly 2.5 million migrants at the southern border in 2023.

While debates in the U.S. focus on domestic immigration policy, there's an undeniable reality: The year saw a historic rise in the number of displaced people around the world.

That's apparent at the border and in shelters throughout American cities: a Venezuelan pharmacist sleeping in line to get shelter in New York City; a Kurdish English teacher crossing the California border; a Russian doctor in Tijuana who spoke to NPR while in line to request asylum. His sons were entering the age of military service. "Russia is so difficult. I can't describe it," he said. "It's so difficult for me. Catastrofa."

Castastrofa, catastrophe. It's an apt description of the situation for migrants at the border.

President Biden's immigration policy has been two-fold. On the one hand, punish migrants who cross the border without documents by making it more difficult to get asylum. This is controversial because a person fleeing danger might not have time to fill out an application for entry into the U.S.