Migrant border encounters plummet under Trump vs. Biden’s record highs

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Trump admin sends military to southern border to reinforce security: ‘A show of force’

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, argues President Donald Trump’s border strategy is exactly the right approach to bring border encounters down to zero.

Illegal migrant border encounters have plummeted since President Donald Trump took office in January and continue to trend at record lows compared to this time last year under former President Joe Biden.

For instance, there were just 32 encounters in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, compared to 1,134 encounters on the same day in 2024, according to Border Patrol sources. That equates to a 97% reduction.

In Tucson, Arizona, yesterday, there were 59 apprehensions compared to 1,222 on the same day last year under Biden, a 95% reduction, while San Diego saw 36 apprehensions on Thursday compared to 908 on the same day in 2024, a 96% decrease. 

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In total, there were just 254 apprehensions across the southern border on Thursday, compared to 4,229 on the same day last year, a 94% reduction.

The figures come after Trump announced earlier this month that apprehensions fell to 8,326 in the whole month of February, his first full month in office, which he said is a record-setting low. The figure marks a 96% drop from the highs of the Biden administration in December 2023.

Following the announcement, Trump defiantly declared that the border is now closed and that all of those border crossers would be quickly ejected or prosecuted for crimes against the U.S.

Illegal migrant border encounters have plummeted since President Donald Trump took office in January and continue to trend at record lows compared to this time last year under former President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)

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“This means that very few people came – The Invasion of our Country is OVER,” Trump wrote. “Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation.”

Biden repeatedly had single days when apprehensions ranged from 8,000 to 10,000 migrants, with his highest single month being December 2023, when 249,785 Border Patrol apprehensions were recorded. 

Former President Joe Biden oversaw unprecedented levels of illegal immigration and migrants at the southern border. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta and Fox News)

One single day of apprehensions under Biden during the height of the border crisis was repeatedly more than Trump’s entire first month in office.

The huge drop came despite Congress passing no new immigration legislation.

Biden said during his term in office that he needed a new bill to tackle the unprecedented influx of migrants pouring across the southern border, but a bill never crossed his desk. Trump’s second term, much like his first, has consisted of executive orders, enforcing current laws and hard-line messaging to clamp down on illegal crossings.

Trump has also signed orders ending birthright citizenship, suspending refugee admissions, ending the use of an app at the southern border to admit migrants via humanitarian parole and resuming border wall construction.

Trump’s hard-line approach to illegal immigration was a key campaign promise and his administration has also been arresting and deporting criminal illegal migrants across the country under the leadership of border czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

A group of more than 100 migrants attempted to enter the U.S. illegally by rushing through a border wall on March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)

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Elsewhere on Thursday, Del Rio and the Rio Grande Valley saw 36 and 35 encounters, respectively, compared to 207 and 372, respectively, under Biden last year, the sources said. 

There were 32 apprehensions in Laredo on Thursday, six in Yuma, three in Big Bend and two in El Campo. 

On the same day last year, there were 127 apprehensions in Laredo, 269 in Yuman, 41 in El Campo and 19 in Big Bend.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin, Michael Lee and Aleandra Koch contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.