Border encounters with illegal migrants have significantly dropped since President Donald Trump assumed office in January and are currently at all-time lows when compared to the same period last year during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
For example, El Paso, Texas, recorded only 32 encounters on Thursday, a stark contrast to the 1,134 encounters reported on the equivalent day back in 2024, as per information from Border Patrol sources, resulting in a 97% decrease.
In Tucson, Arizona, there were 59 apprehensions yesterday, in comparison to 1,222 on the corresponding day last year under Biden’s leadership, indicating a 95% reduction, while San Diego experienced only 36 apprehensions on Thursday versus 908 on the same day in 2024, marking a 96% decline.
“This means that very few people came – The Invasion of our Country is OVER,” Trump wrote. “Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation.”
Biden repeatedly had single days when apprehensions ranged from 8,000 to 10,000 migrants, with his highest single month being December 2023, when 249,785 Border Patrol apprehensions were recorded.
Former President Joe Biden oversaw unprecedented levels of illegal immigration and migrants at the southern border. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta and Fox News)
One single day of apprehensions under Biden during the height of the border crisis was repeatedly more than Trump’s entire first month in office.
The huge drop came despite Congress passing no new immigration legislation.
Biden said during his term in office that he needed a new bill to tackle the unprecedented influx of migrants pouring across the southern border, but a bill never crossed his desk. Trump’s second term, much like his first, has consisted of executive orders, enforcing current laws and hard-line messaging to clamp down on illegal crossings.
Trump has also signed orders ending birthright citizenship, suspending refugee admissions, ending the use of an app at the southern border to admit migrants via humanitarian parole and resuming border wall construction.
Trump’s hard-line approach to illegal immigration was a key campaign promise and his administration has also been arresting and deporting criminal illegal migrants across the country under the leadership of border czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
A group of more than 100 migrants attempted to enter the U.S. illegally by rushing through a border wall on March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)
Elsewhere on Thursday, Del Rio and the Rio Grande Valley saw 36 and 35 encounters, respectively, compared to 207 and 372, respectively, under Biden last year, the sources said.
There were 32 apprehensions in Laredo on Thursday, six in Yuma, three in Big Bend and two in El Campo.
On the same day last year, there were 127 apprehensions in Laredo, 269 in Yuman, 41 in El Campo and 19 in Big Bend.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin, Michael Lee and Aleandra Koch contributed to this report.
