While our major cities are erupting into chaos over the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) working to detain and repatriate illegal aliens, we can take comfort in one thing: Thanks to the efforts of the Border Patrol, who are finally free to do their jobs, illegal border crossings are at a historic low.
The lowest number of illegal border crossings were reported for the first quarter of a fiscal year in U.S. history in President Donald Trump’s first year in office.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2026 (October, November and December 2025), U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded the lowest illegal border crosser encounter/apprehension totals ever reported at the beginning of a fiscal year.
A total of 91,603 encounters/apprehensions were reported nationwide – lower than any prior fiscal year to date, according to the latest CBP data.
By comparison, record highs were reported under the Biden administration of 392,196 in Q1 of fiscal 2025; 988,512 in Q1 of fiscal 2024; and 865,333 in Q1 fiscal 2023, according to the data.
Border Patrol agents also apprehended the lowest number of illegal border crossers at the southwest border in U.S. history in the first quarter of a fiscal year of just 21,815.
The total is 95% lower than the first quarter average under the Biden administration.
We might remember the pious pronouncements from the incompetent Biden administration, about how the border was "under control," and that the administration's hands were tied unless Congress acted and passed yet more laws that Joe Biden wouldn't enforce. Clearly, that wasn't the case; all we needed was a president who would turn the Border Patrol loose to do their jobs.
This comes in addition to the number of illegal aliens repatriated, either voluntarily or involuntarily. As of this writing, ICE reports that more than 2.5 million illegal aliens have left the United States since President Trump resumed office. Roughly 1.9 million have left voluntarily, and these people are free to re-enter the United States, presuming they do so through the legal process. The 605,000 deportees, though, face felony charges if they are caught sneaking in again.
A nation without borders isn't a nation at all. For years, Democratic administrations talked a good game about the border, but did little about it. Now we see what can be done, if we just have the right people for the job.
Here's the best part:
Border Patrol officers also released zero illegal border crossers into the country through parole programs in December and over the last eight months, CBP says. This is after the Trump administration terminated Biden-era parole programs, including catch and release, and implemented expedited removal processes, The Center Square reported.
By comparison, Border Patrol agents were ordered to release illegal border crossers into the country by the Biden administration. In December 2024, they released 7,041 along the southwest border, according to CBP data.
The numbers here are shocking. The Migration Policy Institute estimates 3.18 million illegal immigrants were released into the United States during Joe Biden's befuddled tenure in the White House. Most came from Mexico and Venezuela, but others entered from Haiti, Cuba, China, and Russia. And even now, we have little idea where a lot of these people are, or what they are up to.
The difference just couldn't be more stark. Are you tired of winning yet?
