There were more than 4.5 million removals, returns and expulsions from February 2021, President Joe Biden’s first month in office, to November 2024.
It takes several years for immigrants to become citizens, a requirement to vote in federal elections.
By By Maria Ramirez Uribe & Amy Sherman
When he wasn’t waving a bureaucracy chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Elon Musk revived false campaign rhetoric about former President Joe Biden trying to import voters illegally.
In a Feb. 20 interview, Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked, "You think they were creating a new voter class? You think that was the goal when they opened up the borders for four years?"
Musk said Biden had a political incentive to "maximize" people in the country illegally.
"That is why the Biden administration was pushing to get in as many illegals as possible and spend every dollar possible to get as many, because every one of them is a customer," Musk said. "Everyone's a voter. The whole thing was a giant voter importation scam."
Musk, now involved with President Donald Trump’s commission to cut government spending, repeated falsehoods he spread early in the 2024 election year that Biden had an election strategy to import voters through illegal immigration. We emailed the White House press office asking for evidence and did not hear back.
Biden stepped up immigration enforcement during the election year
There were historically high levels of illegal immigration during the Biden administration, but there is no evidence that Biden "imported" those people to become voters. Factors such as natural disasters and economic or political turmoil in a persons’ home country lead people to migrate.
Additionally, Musk’s statement ignored that the Biden administration removed and deported immigrants in the U.S. illegally, and it stepped up efforts in 2024 as he ran for reelection. (He dropped out in July.)
The Biden administration removed, returned or expelled more than 4.5 million people from February 2021, Biden’s first full month in office, to November 2024, the latest month with available data.
Illegal immigration has generally dropped since March 2024, and it dropped significantly after June, when Biden implemented a policy limiting people’s ability to apply for asylum at the southwest border. For example, there were more than 137,000 southwest border encounters in March 2024 and 47,000 in December.
"Biden was trying to deport as many border crossers as he could, so I don’t see any evidence he wanted these people in the United States," said David Bier, an immigration expert at the libertarian Cato Institute. "He campaigned as being anti-illegal immigration. He never courted their votes, and
he could not court their votes because they cannot vote and do not vote. Saying ‘every one of them was a voter’ is as divorced from reality as anything you could possibly say."
It takes several years for immigrants to become citizens
Federal law requires U.S. citizenship to vote in national elections, and would-be voters sign a form that attests under penalty of perjury that they are citizens when they register to vote.
The citizenship process takes several years.
"It takes on average five years in green card status before a person can become a U.S. citizen, so no one would instantly gain the right to vote," Michelle Mittelstadt, a spokesperson for the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, previously told PolitiFact.
Musk acknowledged at CPAC that it might take years for immigrants to gain citizenship, but it would be "an investment that is guaranteed to pay off."
Immigrants who arrive illegally have higher hurdles to clear before becoming citizens and voting. The Biden administration failed in its efforts to pass a law with a pathway to citizenship, and no such legislation is expected during the Trump administration.
Which party would have the ‘immigrant’ advantage?
There is no guarantee that immigrants who become citizens will vote, or vote for Democrats. Although the southwest border gets the most attention, immigrants who come illegally are not from Latin America only.
Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist in California and author of the book "The Latino Century," said Republicans won the largest national Hispanic vote share in 2024 than in presidential elections in recent cycles.
Immigrants, including Hispanics, view the Republican Party as focused on economic issues and the Democratic Party as focused on cultural issues, Madrid said.
The New York Times documented a conservative shift among immigrants after the 2020 election. Its analysis of voting in 28,000 precincts in more than 20 cities found that immigrant-dense neighborhoods with large populations of Latinos and residents of Asian descent had a surge in turnout and shifted to the right.
"There is zero evidence that immigration has harmed Republican Party prospects," Bier previously told us.
Eligible naturalized citizens comprise about 10% of voters, Pew Research Center found in 2024.
Voting by noncitizens is rare
There are incidents of noncitizens voting in elections, but they are sporadic among millions of votes cast in federal elections. Immigrants who cross the border illegally are typically looking for jobs and many are escaping poverty or crime — most don’t want to risk drawing government authorities’ attention by casting a ballot.
Voting by noncitizens carries high risks that include deportation if they are here illegally or incarceration. Fraudulent voter registration or voting by noncitizens often results from misunderstandings or errors. For example, some noncitizens accidentally register to vote when applying for a driver’s license.
Musk said Biden’s immigration policy was "a giant voter importation scam."
There is no evidence that the Biden administration was bringing in people illegally to cast votes. Government data shows more than 4.5 million removals, returns and expulsions during Biden’s tenure. Biden stepped up these actions during the election year.
It takes several years for immigrants to become citizens and therefore eligible to vote. Immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally cannot vote and would have to overcome hurdles to become citizens.
We rate this statement Pants on Fire.
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