Were 20 million people illegally released into the United States under the Biden Administration, as Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed?

No.

According to TRAC immigration court data, 108,610 immigrants charged with entry without inspection were released from FY2021 to 2024.

Of those, 3,949 were granted relief. Though entry without inspection is illegal, DHS releasing rather than detaining is not. There were 5,744 such instances, 356 of which resulted in relief, in FY2026.

Immigrants deemed inadmissible at ports of entry are sometimes granted parole for humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, allowing legal, temporary entry into the U.S. without formal admission. 973,075 inadmissible aliens received parole from FY2021 to 2024 – each year following 2021 set record highs. There were 75,431 parolees in FY2026, representing the greatest share of inadmissibles since 2017 at 35%.

The total unauthorized population was 15.8 million in 2024, making 20 million illegal entrants from 2021 to 2024 decidedly unlikely, though CBP claimed 1.7 million so-called “gotaways” during that period.

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Sources

TRAC Immigration New Proceedings Filed in Immigration CourtTRAC reports Released EWI 2021 – 2024Congress.gov Immigration Detention: A Legal OverviewTRAC Immigration Stopping "Inadmissibles" at U.S. Ports of EntryMigration Policy Institute The U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Reaches New Levels and Diversifies, MPI Estimates ShowHomeland Security Committee | Republican BORDER SECTOR CHIEFS CONFIRM OPERATIONAL IMPACTS OF BORDER CHAOS: INCREASED GOTAWAYS, CLOSED CHECKPOINTS, AND EMPOWERED CARTELS

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