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1h ago

U.S.–Mexico Border Apprehensions Drop to Lowest Level Since Early 1970s

Preliminary DHS data tie the decline to tightened asylum access under President Trump's expanded enforcement.

In an aerial view, a U.S. Border Patrol agent searches for immigrant footprints while looking through the U.S.-Mexico border fence on March 9, 2024 in Yuma, Arizona.
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Overview

  • Border Patrol recorded nearly 238,000 apprehensions in fiscal year 2025, the lowest annual total since 1970 and far below the 2.2 million logged in 2022, according to preliminary DHS data reported by CBS News.
  • Across Trump’s first eight full months in office, monthly apprehensions stayed below 9,000, including about 8,400 in September after 6,300 in August and 4,600 in July.
  • The downturn began after Biden-era asylum limits in summer 2024 and deepened as the Trump administration curtailed asylum access, deployed troops, ended routine releases, shut down prior legal pathways, and accelerated deportations.
  • The White House credited President Trump with reducing illegal crossings to multi-decade lows and pointed to the CBS figures to underscore its border-security message.
  • Legal and civic pushback continues, with courts curtailing parts of the asylum ban and a judge blocking a National Guard deployment to Portland, while shelters such as those in El Paso report sharply fewer new arrivals.