Earlier this month, a user on X shared a video from 2007 featuring then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden responding to a question about immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border.
The caption of the extensive, multi-paragraph X post commenced with the statement, “In 2007, Senator Joe Biden declared that no great nation has uncontrolled borders, warning that America must build a border fence and increase border agents to secure the nation against drugs, terror, and illegal immigration.”
The post additionally criticized President Biden’s record, highlighting that “a record-breaking eight million people have illegally entered the country in three years with a fentanyl crisis leading to over 106,000 Americans overdosing on drugs last year.”
The facts indicate that, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, data from February 2021 through November 2023 (the most recent available data) showed “Southwest land border encounters” on the U.S.-Mexico border totaled well over 6.7 million during that period.
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It is acknowledged that Biden took office in the latter part of January 2021. It is suggested that finalized data released in the future may confirm 8 million Southwest border encounters for Biden’s 36 months in office.
Regarding the claim about fentanyl and drug overdoses, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that there had been an estimated 106,661 U.S. drug overdose deaths for the 12 months that ended in July 2023 (the most recent available data from the CDC).
The majority of those deaths, precisely 74,191, were attributed to fentanyl and synthetic opioids other than methadone. Furthermore, the post made several other references to Biden’s record on immigration, noting instances such as when he ended the “Remain in Mexico” policy, paused deportations, and halted border wall construction.
The edited video shared on X was recorded at a town hall meeting on August 12, 2007, in front of Madison County Democrats at the Madison County Historical Society in Winterset, Iowa.
POLL — Should the U.S. Government Create a Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants?
At that time, Biden was on the campaign trail running for the presidency ahead of the 2008 election, a race ultimately won by Barack Obama, with Biden serving as his vice president for two terms.
The video was reposted by individuals such as X owner Elon Musk, who made the unfounded claim that Biden was “importing voters,” seemingly referring to the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
During the town hall, an unidentified woman asked Biden, “I’m grappling and look to your leadership and experience on this issue of immigration. What is your wisdom and thinking experience about what’s legal, not legal… a big tall fence?”
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Near the beginning of Biden’s answer, he said words that were later echoed in the caption of the video post on X: “It makes sense that no great nation can be in a position where they can’t control their borders. It matters how you control your borders. Not just for immigration. But it matters for drugs, terror [and] a whole range of other things.”
Later in his answer, he mentioned the idea of “a significant increase in the security at the border,” including “virtual fencing, some fencing [and] additional Border Patrol [agents].” He also specified, about his mention of a border fence, “Not a fence 3,000 miles like these folks are talking about” – an apparent reference to Republicans.
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