Q1 border crossings plummet 95% from Biden era, lowest in history

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square 

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.

In December, Border Patrol agents apprehended 6,478 illegal border crossers between ports of entry at the southwest border, a 96% drop from the monthly average during the Biden administration. 

The total is also less than the number apprehended in just four days in December 2024.

To put this in perspective, Border Patrol agents apprehended 209 illegal border crossers a day along the entire southwest border in four states in December 2025. 

That is less than the number apprehended every 1.5 hours during the Biden administration, according to CBP data.

Nationwide, illegal border crossings in December remained historically low, totaling 30,698. This is the lowest total ever reported for the month of December in U.S. history.

By contrast, 370,883 were reported nationwide in December 2024 under the Biden administration, according to the data.

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.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the dedication of DHS law enforcement, America’s borders are safer than any time in our nation’s history. What President Trump and our CBP agents and officers have been able to do in a single year is nothing short of extraordinary,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. “Once again, we have a record low number of encounters at the border and the eighth straight month of zero releases. Month after month, we are delivering results that were once thought impossible: the most secure border in history and unmatched enforcement successes.”

The numbers are a complete reversal from the Biden era that saw a minimum of 14 million illegal border crossers, The Center Square reported. This included more than two million gotaways, those who illegally entered between ports of entry to evade capture. It also excludes millions released through more than a dozen parole programs and multiple visa programs the previous administration created and expanded. The Trump administration either terminated or revamped them. It is also implementing new policies and procedures to identify waste, fraud and abuse in several federal immigration programs and agencies. 

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