Illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border have fallen to the lowest point in more than half a century, according to new Department of Homeland Security data obtained by CBS News. The dramatic fall comes amid President Donald Trump’s sweeping enforcement measures aimed at ending illegal immigration.
Border Patrol agents recorded roughly 238,000 apprehensions of migrants entering the US illegally during fiscal year 2025, which ran from October 2024 through September 2025. That’s the lowest number since 1970, when agents reported about 202,000 apprehensions, according to historical data.
The figure is part of a dramatic turnaround from the record 2.2 million apprehensions logged in fiscal year 2022 under the Biden administration. The report shows that more than 60 percent of this year’s arrests took place during Biden’s final months in office. Since Trump’s return to the White House, monthly apprehensions have fallen below 9,000—a number that was reached in a single day during Biden’s border crisis.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson credited the decline to Trump’s border policies. “President Trump has overwhelmingly delivered on his promise to secure our Southern Border,” she said. “Americans are safer—unvetted criminal illegal aliens and dangerous drugs are no longer pouring over our border unchecked.”
After taking office, Trump closed the asylum system, sent thousands of troops to the southern border, and reinstated fast-track deportations. His administration also ended Biden-era programs that had allowed some migrants to enter legally.
Analysts say the impact has been immediate. Ariel Ruiz Soto, of the Migration Policy Institute, said the administration has set “a new normal” for migration flows. “These policies have had a significant effect on people being deterred from coming illegally to the United States,” he noted.
Local officials along the border acknowledge that the crackdown has sharply reduced migrant arrivals. In El Paso, Texas, shelter operator John Martin said his network once housed hundreds of migrants daily. Now, he said, there are virtually none. “If the goal is to decrease the number of individuals, I would say that appears to have been successful,” he said.
Border Patrol agents recorded roughly 238,000 apprehensions of migrants entering the US illegally during fiscal year 2025, which ran from October 2024 through September 2025. That’s the lowest number since 1970, when agents reported about 202,000 apprehensions, according to historical data.
The figure is part of a dramatic turnaround from the record 2.2 million apprehensions logged in fiscal year 2022 under the Biden administration. The report shows that more than 60 percent of this year’s arrests took place during Biden’s final months in office. Since Trump’s return to the White House, monthly apprehensions have fallen below 9,000—a number that was reached in a single day during Biden’s border crisis.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson credited the decline to Trump’s border policies. “President Trump has overwhelmingly delivered on his promise to secure our Southern Border,” she said. “Americans are safer—unvetted criminal illegal aliens and dangerous drugs are no longer pouring over our border unchecked.”
After taking office, Trump closed the asylum system, sent thousands of troops to the southern border, and reinstated fast-track deportations. His administration also ended Biden-era programs that had allowed some migrants to enter legally.
Analysts say the impact has been immediate. Ariel Ruiz Soto, of the Migration Policy Institute, said the administration has set “a new normal” for migration flows. “These policies have had a significant effect on people being deterred from coming illegally to the United States,” he noted.
Local officials along the border acknowledge that the crackdown has sharply reduced migrant arrivals. In El Paso, Texas, shelter operator John Martin said his network once housed hundreds of migrants daily. Now, he said, there are virtually none. “If the goal is to decrease the number of individuals, I would say that appears to have been successful,” he said.
