Migrants gather at an immigration station in Tapachula, Mexico, on Feb. 24. Activists and shelters on Mexico’s southern border observed a decrease in migrants in the area after actions by U.S. President Trump. Photo by Juan Manuel Blaco/EPA-EFE
March 12 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection in February apprehended 8,347 migrants attempting to cross the southern border, the lowest in history and a tiny fraction of one year ago, as arrests of undocumented people already in the nation are rising.
In the first full month since Donald Trump became president again, the apprehensions averaged 298 per day at the southern border and 330 nationwide, according to data from the agency released Wednesday.
The southern border encounters are 71% decrease from January 2025 when there were 29,101.
In February 2024 when Joe Biden was president, there were 140,641 encounters.
“The men and women of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 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,” Acting Commissioner Pete Flores said. “At the direction of the administration, we remain unwavering in our mission to prioritize American safety, secure the border, and enforce consequences for those who violate United States law.”
CBP’s Office of Field Operations, which manages customs operations, encountered 3,362 inadmissible migrants at ports of entry along the southwest border last month. This is a 90% decrease from January when OFO encountered 32,346 inadmissible ones, and a 93% decrease from February 2024 when OFO encountered 49,272 inadmissible migrants.
CPB monitors 300 ports of entry secured by U.S. Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations.
Working with the Department of Defense, CPB has dramatically increased active patrols of the international borders.
“President Trump and Secretary 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.
So far this year the total number of U.S. Border Patrol and field operations encounters are 502,547.
In fiscal year 2024 there were 2,901,142 enforcement actions with 3,201,144 in 2023, 2,766,582 in 2022 and 1,956,519 in 2021.
The most during Trump’s presidency was 1,148,024 in 2019.
In June 2024, the Biden administration announced a new executive action on immigration that bars asylum to migrants who cross the southern border unlawfully. An average of no more than 2,500 migrants who unlawfully cross the U.S. southern border per day potentially will be eligible for asylum, Biden said.
This year there have been 4,323 criminal noncitizens encountered and 289 criminal noncitizens with outstanding wants or warrants by Border Patrol.
In 2024, there were 17,048 criminal noncitizens encountered and 954 criminal noncitizens with outstanding wants or warrants by Border Patrol
Deportations
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deported around 11,000 migrants last month compared with just over 12,000 in February 2024, NBC reported. Of the people deported last month, roughly half did not have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, the data showed.
When removing recent border crossers and counting only immigrants deported after first being arrested by ICE, nearly 4,300 immigrants were deported this February compared with about 2,100 in February 2024.
CBP has launched the CBP Home mobile app for those undocumented migrants or those with revoked parole to voluntarily notify the U.S. government of their intent to depart. This was as a result of an executive order by Trump.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem have made it clear: leave voluntarily now for a chance to return and live the American dream. If not, individuals will be found, deported, and permanently barred from reentry,” the release said. “The choice is clear.”
Border czar Tom Homan has said the administration’s deportation policy is “worst first,” meaning it will prioritize removing people with criminal records or suspected national security threats.
Last year, ICE told Congress it had identified 435,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions in the country who were not in custody.
ICE was holding almost 44,000 migrants in detention through the end of February, which is 10% more detainees than at the end of the Biden administration, according to the agency’s public data.
Drug seizures
Through February, CBP seized more than 10,900 pounds of drugs, consisting of 2,584 pounds of cocaine, 1,266 pounds of fentanyl, 5,683 pounds of methamphetamine, 135 pounds of heroin, 664 pounds of marijuana and 640 pounds of other illicit substances such as amphetamine, ecstasy, ketamine, hashish, steroids, and xylazine.
Also, CBP intercepted 140 weapons and seized over $1.3 million in illicit U.S. currency.
Working with federal, state, local, tribal, territorial partners, there was a cumulative seizure of more 13,348 pounds of illegal drugs, more than $1.97 million in illicit U.S. currency, more than 180 weapons, and CBP arrests of 317 individuals affiliated with and/or connected to those with direct ties to transnational criminal organizations