Border Patrol Records Lowest Southwest Apprehensions in Decades, First Full Year with Zero Releases

The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection announced preliminary fiscal year 2026 data showing Border Patrol recorded 98,708 apprehensions of people crossing between ports of entry on the southwest border. That total is a 95 percent decline from annual averages above 1.8 million during the Biden administration and is the lowest since 1968, when agents recorded 96,641.

The figure is also 60 percent lower than the single highest month under Biden (249,740). Total nationwide encounters in FY 2026 stood at 379,243, the lowest in agency history and 88 percent below the FY 2023 peak of roughly 2.7 million. September marked the 17th consecutive month with zero Border Patrol releases of migrants into the country, completing the first full fiscal year with no such releases.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said President Trump promised a secure border and the data shows he delivered. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott credited frontline personnel and partnerships. Border czar Tom Homan has described the combination of border and interior enforcement as producing the results.

Crossings had begun declining late in the Biden administration after asylum restrictions and Mexican enforcement, then accelerated under Trump policies that restricted asylum access at the border and expanded interior arrests and deportations. Border deaths also fell nearly 80 percent compared with the Biden years.

DHS described the numbers as preliminary. Historical comparisons depend on consistent definitions of encounters and apprehensions. Officials noted that lower crossings have also reduced cartel revenue from human smuggling.