Washington, D.C. — The number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border illegally in President Trump’s first full month in office plunged to a level not seen in at least 25 years, according to preliminary government data obtained by CBS News.
Last month, Border Patrol recorded about 8,450 apprehensions of migrants who crossed into the country unlawfully between official entry points along the U.S.-Mexico border, the statistics show.
On some days during a record spike in illegal crossings under the Biden administration, Border Patrol recorded more than 8,000 apprehensions in a single day.
February’s total, which could be adjusted when the government officially publishes the statistics, would be the lowest monthly apprehensions tally recorded by Border Patrol since at least fiscal year 2000, the last period with public monthly data. The final tallies usually don’t deviate much from the preliminary figures.
Over the past 25 years, the only time monthly apprehensions came close to the level recorded in February was in April 2017, when Border Patrol apprehended 11,000 migrants at the southwest border, agency data show.
While monthly data before fiscal year 2000 is not publicly available, the last time Border Patrol averaged roughly 8,000 apprehensions per month over a year was in fiscal year 1968, according to historical statistics.
Illegal crossings along the U.S. southern border have been trending downward over the past year, including under the Biden administration, after spiking to an all-time high in late 2023.
They first dropped in early 2024 after Mexican officials expanded efforts to stop migrants from reaching the U.S. border and then fell further in the summer following former President Biden’s move to sharply restrict access to the asylum system.
But the reduction in illegal immigration has been precipitous since Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
In January, Border Patrol agents at the Mexican border recorded 29,000 apprehensions, down 38% from 47,000 in December. The drop from January to February was even more pronounced, amounting to a roughly 70% decrease.
Trump administration officials have credited their sweeping, government-wide immigration crackdown for the dramatic decrease in unlawful crossings.
At the U.S.-Mexico border, the Trump administration has empowered federal officials to swiftly deport migrants without hearing their asylum claims, under the premise that the country is facing an “invasion.”
U.S. law says migrants on American soil generally have the right to claim asylum to delay or halt their deportation. Trump administration officials have argued the system has been systematically abused by smugglers and economic migrants, who don’t qualify for asylum.
Mr. Trump has also directed the American military to help with immigration enforcement, deploying thousands of additional troops to the southern border and tasking military planes with deporting migrants.
While Biden also moved to curtail asylum during his last year in office, Mr. Trump’s unprecedented actions are far more restrictive.
Unlike the Biden administration, for example, the Trump administration is not processing, in any significant capacity, asylum-seekers at official border entry points. In fact, a Biden-era system that facilitated that processing through a government app was quickly terminated.
The Trump administration is also considering adding another layer to its restrictions at the border, making plans to invoke a public health law known as Title 42 to summarily expel migrants on the grounds that they could spread diseases like tuberculosis.
Whether migrant flows continue dropping, plateau or increase in the coming weeks and months remains unclear. Historically, migrant arrivals at the southern border have increased in the springtime.
While its border strategy has yielded quick results, the Trump administration’s efforts in the U.S. interior, where the president has promised to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history, have encountered significant obstacles.
Top Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been reassigned in recent weeks amid frustrations that the agency is not carrying out sufficient arrests and deportations.
ICE’s detention capacity has also been stretched thin. As of Friday, ICE detention centers were at 117% capacity, with the agency detaining more than 45,000 migrants, 20,000 of whom were first apprehended at the southern border, according to internal government data.
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