The U.S. southern border saw fewer illegal crossings in fiscal year 2025 than in any other year since 1970, according to internal federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data statistics obtained by CBS News, with just 238,000 apprehensions.
[RELATED: DOJ Announces Northern Border Crackdown on Human Trafficking in New York and Vermont…]
“President Donald J. Trump’s relentless commitment to securing our homeland has crushed illegal crossings at the southern border to the lowest level in over 50 years — another historic victory for American sovereignty and safety under President Trump’s leadership,” said the White House in response to the CBS article.
“After Biden-era chaos unleashed a record-shattering invasion, the seismic turnaround proves that strong leadership can, in fact, stop the flood of illegal crossings, deadly cartels, and security threats dead in their tracks,” they added.
The Fiscal Year 2025 statistics, which began in October last year and ended on September 30, included the last few months of former President Joe Biden’s term and most of President Trump’s first year.
Even with the waning months of President Biden’s open border policies included in the data, FY 2025 had the lowest number of apprehensions since 1970, when there were just 202,000.
The data reviewed by CBS further revealed that over 60 percent of the FY 2025 apprehensions took place during the last months of Biden’s presidency, making the reduction even more impressive.
CBS contrasted the 2025 numbers with those from 2022, when Border Patrol made 2.2 million apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border.
During the first eight months of Trump’s second term, Border Patrol averaged 9,000 apprehensions per month.
According to DHS data, July saw a record low of 4,600 apprehensions, and that number crept up to nearly 8,400 in September.
If President Trump’s policies continue to keep the average number of monthly apprehensions at 9,000, FY 2026 could see just 108,000 apprehensions, which would be the lowest number since 1968.
