Apprehensions along the southwest border have declined 94 percent year-over-year, the agency says.
The number of illegal immigrants apprehended by authorities has dropped significantly under the Trump administration, according to the latest figures released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Average apprehensions by Border Patrol agents totaled approximately 330 per day in February, the first full month since President Donald Trump issued new executive orders on the border, the agency said in a March 12 monthly report, adding that this was the “lowest nationwide average apprehensions” in CBP history.
Last month, Border Patrol agents apprehended 8,347 illegal immigrants at the southern border, down 94 percent from 140,641 apprehensions in February 2024, CBP data show.
Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “have sent a clear message: if you cross the border illegally, you will be deported without an opportunity to try another day, or in a few hours,” the agency said.
Homeland Security launched an ad campaign last month warning illegal immigrants that if they do not willingly remove themselves from the country, they will be deported with no chance of coming back. Those who self-deport may get an opportunity to return to the United States, the campaign stated.
Pete Flores, acting commissioner of CBP, said the agency’s officials continue to “aggressively implement the president’s executive orders to secure our borders, and as a result of this leadership, we have achieved historic lows in border apprehensions.”
The agency recently launched the CBP Home mobile application, which allows illegal immigrants in the United States to notify the government about their plans to leave the country. This ensures an “orderly process for aliens to communicate their departure plans,” it said.
On Feb. 26, Noem said that more than 20,000 illegal immigrants had been arrested inside the country by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the past month. In comparison, the agency arrested 33,000 illegal immigrants during all of last year under the prior administration.
“Hundreds of thousands of criminals were let into this country illegally. We are sending them home, and they will never be allowed to return,” Noem said.
The administration is “saving lives every day because of the actions we are taking to secure the border and deport illegal alien criminals.”
