The number of foreign nationals apprehended entering the U.S. illegally reached its lowest level in recorded history in February.
Last month, only 8,326 apprehensions and encounters were reported at the southwest border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced, “the lowest documented by U.S. Border Patrol.”
That’s down from 189,913 in February 2024, 156,630 in February 2023 and 166,010 in February 2022, excluding those who illegally entered and evaded capture, according to CBP data.
In just the first 10 days of the Trump administration, apprehensions dropped by 85% between ports of entry at the southwest border and 93% at ports of entry as a result of policies implemented by the Trump administration.
On his first day in office, Trump issued multiple executive orders to secure U.S. borders, including declaring an invasion, a national emergency at both the southwest and northern borders, and directed the U.S. military to assist with apprehensions and deportations, The Center Square reported.
Numerous reports indicate that the children were smuggled to the U.S. under the guise of reconnecting with a family member and not safeguarded by a federal program designed to oversee their care once they were in the U.S., The Center Square reported. Under the Biden administration, children were sent to live with unvetted sponsors who weren’t family members and were unknown to them, including gang members and alleged sex and labor traffickers, The Center Square reported.
Additionally, the Biden administration lost track of them, congressional investigators found, resulting in congressional subpoenas, investigations and multiple hearings.
The Trump administration has prioritized finding them. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has made it a priority to find more than “300,000 children that were smuggled into this country at the hands of criminal cartels” under the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.
