WASHINGTON, D.C. — The number of immigrants illegally crossing the South of the United States in President Trump’s first month has plummeted to levels not seen in at least 25 years, according to government preliminary data obtained by CBS News.
Last month, the Border Patrol recorded anxiety about 8,450 immigrants who illegally crossed the country between the official entry points along the US-Mexico border, statistics show.
During record-breaking spikes at illegal intersections under the Biden administration, the Border Patrol recorded more than 8,000 anxiety in a day.
The February total, which could be adjusted when the government officially publishes statistics, will be the tally of the lowest monthly concerns recorded by border patrols since at least 2000. The final tally usually doesn’t deviate much from the preliminary figures.
In the last 25 years, the only time monthly concerns have approached the level recorded in February was April 2017.
Historical statistics show that monthly data from before 2000 has not been published, but the last data for the Border Patrol was about 8,000 people a month, with an average of 8,000 people in 1968.
After a record high in late 2023, illegal intersections along the US southern border have fallen over the past year, including under the Biden administration.
They first fell in early 2024 after Mexican officials expanded their efforts to stop immigrants from reaching the US border and then fell further in the summer, following a move to restrict access to the asylum system in the summer.
However, the decline in illegal immigration has been acute since Trump took office.
In January, Border Patrol agents on the Mexican border recorded an unrest of 29,000 people, down 38% from 47,000 in December. The decline from January to February was even more pronounced, increasing the decline by about 70%.
Trump administration officials believe in their drastic, government-wide immigration crackdown on the dramatic decline in illegal crossings.
On the US-Mexico border, the Trump administration has given federal officials the power to expel immigrants quickly without listening to their claims of asylum, under the premise that the country is facing “aggression.”
According to US law, immigrants in American soils generally have the right to asylum that delay or stop deportation. Trump administration officials argue that the system is being systematically abused by smugglers and economic immigrants who are not eligible for asylum.
Trump has also directed the US troops to help enforce immigrants, deploy thousands of additional troops to the southern border, and challenge military planes to deport immigrants.
Biden also moved to exile during his inauguration last year, but Trump’s unprecedented behaviour is far more restrictive.
Unlike the Biden administration, for example, the Trump administration is not dealing with asylum seekers at the official border entrance with significant capabilities. In fact, a system from the Biden era that encouraged processing via government apps to end immediately.
The Trump administration is also considering adding another layer to restrictions at the border, and plans to call the public health law known as Title 42 to immediately banish immigrants because they can spread diseases like tuberculosis.
It remains unclear whether the migration flow will continue to decline, plateau or increase over the coming weeks and months. Historically, the arrival of immigrants to the tropical border increased in the spring.
The border strategy has had rapid results, but the Trump administration’s efforts within the US, where the president promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history, came to a serious obstacle.
Top immigrants and customs enforcement officers have been reassigned in recent weeks amid complaints that the agency has not made adequate arrests and deportation.
ICE’s detention capacity has also grown thinly. As of Friday, the ice detention centre had a capacity of 117%, and the agency had detained more than 45,000 migrants, of which 20,000 were first arrested at the tropical border, according to internal government data.
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Kamilo Montoya Garvez
