This is probably the lesser of evils compared to letting more students into the major than the department has capacity to instruct, resulting in delayed graduation due to not being able to get classes (which is probably claimed a lot more often than is actually true).
However, the capacity management of majors can be done in different ways, some of which are more of less favorable from a student’s point of view.
a. Admit directly to the major, so that the student knows whether s/he is in the major before s/he decides whether to enroll. However, this can mean that changing majors to another popular major is difficult, since the only spaces left besides those reserved for incoming transfer students are those opened due to attrition.
b. Admit to general admission or pre-major status, but admit to the major by GPA or holistic admission process that students have to apply into later. This may be more desirable for students who prioritize the school over the major, and have other majors that are not competitive admission that they are willing to do. But it is less desirable for those who prioritize being able to do the major.
c. Combination of the above. Some schools admit some students directly to the major to fill a portion of the spaces, but others to general admission or pre-major status to compete for admission to the major later. Some schools do (a) for some majors or divisions, but (b) for other majors or divisions.