Chicago – March 28, 2025
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, illegal migrant encounters at the U.S. southern border have dropped significantly. The number of apprehensions has continued to be much lower compared to the same time last year when President Joe Biden was in office.
For example, on Thursday in El Paso, Texas, Border Patrol had just 32 encounters with migrants, compared to 1,134 encounters on the same day in 2024, marking a 97% drop. In Tucson, Arizona, there were 59 apprehensions, down from 1,222 on the same day last year, which is a 95% decrease. Similarly, San Diego saw 36 apprehensions on Thursday compared to 908 in 2024, a 96% reduction. Overall, Border Patrol recorded only 254 apprehensions across the entire southern border on Thursday, down from 4,229 on the same day last year, showing a 94% decline.
This drop follows President Trump’s announcement earlier this month that illegal border crossings reached a record low of 8,326 in February, his first full month in office. This is a 96% decrease compared to the high numbers seen under President Biden in December 2023.
In contrast, during Biden’s time in office, there were days when Border Patrol encountered between 8,000 and 10,000 migrants. December 2023 saw the highest number of monthly encounters, with 249,785 apprehensions recorded.
Despite Congress not passing any new immigration laws, the number of border encounters has sharply decreased since President Trump took office.
