Here's where Biden and Trump stand on immigration in the 2024 race

• Immigration is one of the thorniest public policy issues and one that will define the 2024 election.
• Biden has had to pivot on some of his border policies after running against Trump's efforts in 2020.
• Meanwhile, Trump is seeking to run heavily on immigration this year, similar to his 2016 campaign.

Very few issues animate Americans more than immigration.

And under the presidencies of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, divisions over the issue have only sharpened further.

Trump's 2016 presidential campaign was defined by his hard-line views on immigration: arguing for a wall at the US-Mexico border and insisting that Mexico pay for said barrier, pushing for the deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants, and calling for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.

Once in office, Trump sought to execute his broad vision. His administration constructed 455 miles of fencing along the southern border, but much of the wall simply replaced anti-vehicle barriers with taller steel bars. And despite Trump's rhetoric on ramping up deportations, the number of individuals who were removed from the US declined from October 2018 to September 2019.

Biden in the 2020 election strongly denounced Trump's immigration policies, voicing his opposition to a border wall, blasting the GOP administration's family separation policy, and promising a more humane approach toward migrants at the southern border.

But since Biden took office, an explosion in border apprehensions — along with scores of migrants arriving in Democratic-led cities like Chicago and New York — has became a political liability, with voters giving him low marks on the issue.

Here's a look at Biden and Trump's positions on immigration, one of the defining issues of the November election:

Where Joe Biden stands on immigration

Immigration has been one of the trickiest policy areas for Biden, as he came into office seeking to reverse many Trump-era policies but has instead often found himself on the defensive on the issue.

Republicans across the country have routinely excoriated Biden over border security since taking office, pointing their fingers at him over record levels of apprehensions at the border. In February, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, contending that he had not enforced the country's immigration laws. (The Democratic-led Senate subsequently squashed the impeachment charges against Mayorkas.)

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott over the past two years has pushed back against what he said is Biden's lack of border security by sending hundreds of thousands of migrants to Chicago and New York. And it's created a difficult situation for Democratic officials like New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has had to tackle budgetary challenges in housing migrants.

Biden this year pushed for the passage of a Senate-crafted bipartisan bill, which would have overhauled the US asylum system, among other measures intended to strengthen security at the border. The bill seemingly put the president on the offensive on the issue, as he challenged congressional Republicans to back to proposal to get a handle on immigration.

But Senate Republicans overwhelmingly voted against the bill after Trump pressed them to tank it.

Biden last week signed an executive order that restricts asylum protections — to the frustration of immigration advocates — for migrants if there are more than 2,500 unauthorized daily border crossings over a seven-day average.

Where Donald Trump stands on immigration

Trump has staked much of his 2024 campaign on Biden's vulnerabilities on immigration among voters.

In a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in April, 50% of registered voters approved of Trump's handling of the issue while he was in office. Meanwhile, only 32% of registered voters approved of Biden's handling of immigration.

The former president was instrumental in tanking this year's bipartisan immigration bill, blasting it as a "horrible open borders betrayal" during a January rally in Las Vegas.

Trump has made it clear that he intends to crack down on illegal immigration should he retake the White House.

The former president's conservative allies have already begun drafting executive orders and memos in preparation for potential early actions to restrict migration at the US-Mexico border, according to The Wall Street Journal.

During Trump's sole term in the White House, he also made it more difficult for foreign-born workers — which included many highly-skilled scientists and engineers — to come to the US on visas. A second Trump administration could very well see a return to such policies.