The number of border encounters is dropping sharply as Trump begins a crackdown on illegal immigration
EXCLUSIVE: The the southern border of the USA saw a sharp drop in encounters with illegal immigrants in the early days of the Trump administration, compared to the last few days of the Biden administration, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source told Fox News Digital.
The number of Border Patrol encounters on the southern border in the first three days of the Trump administration is 35% lower than in the last three days of the Biden administration, the source said. Figures do not include encounters at the northern border or encounters at CBP Office of Field Operations ports of entry.
On January 17, there were 1,288 meetings across the country, followed by 1,266 on January 18 and 1,354 on January 19. That’s a total of 3,908 matches.
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President Donald Trump holds a document on the day he issued executive orders and pardons for those charged on Jan. 6 in the Oval Office at the White House, Jan. 20, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)
Trump took office on the 20th, when there were 1,073 meetings. It then fell further to 736 matches on the 21st and again to 714 on the 22nd – making 2523 matches.
The numbers fluctuate wildly at the border on a daily and weekly basis, but the numbers have been relatively low since June, when President Biden signed an executive order limiting asylum. This followed the historic migrant crisis of 2021, which repeatedly broke records.
Migrants seeking asylum in the United States who previously requested an appointment on the CBP One Mobile app are shown standing in line at the El Chaparral border crossing to the U.S. to attend an appointment, in Tijuana, Mexico, on Jan. 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Jorge Duenes)
implemented by President Donald Trump additional restrictions. Upon taking office, he signed orders declaring a border emergency, deploying the military to the border, and ending the use of the CBP One application to process migrants at ports of entry through humanitarian parole.
His administration also launched a mass deportation operation, with ICE agents active in multiple cities and states across the United States.
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Department of Homeland Security he also issued memoranda lifting restrictions the Biden administration had placed on ICE, ordering a review of parole and expanding the use of expedited removal for recently arrived illegal immigrants.
The Trump administration has also moved to renew border wall construction and reinstate the stay-in-Mexico policy, which requires migrants to remain in Mexico for the duration of their asylum claims.
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Trump also signed an executive order revoking birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants — a move that quickly sparked a lawsuit from nearly two dozen states led by Democrats.
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Although the data is preliminary, the lower numbers are likely to fuel speculation about the “Trump effect,” in which migrants are discouraged from heading to the border if they believe they are less likely to be admitted or to be deported if they are.
