According to Customs and Border Protection data, March recorded the lowest number of Southwest border crossings in history, with 7,180 crossings in that month.
Daily apprehensions also fell to about 230 per day. The agency noted that the previous administration recorded daily encounters of 5,000 crossings per day.
These are preliminary numbers, and Customs and Border Protection says it will release a finalized report in the coming days.
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"Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, the administration has taken bold, decisive action to restore control at the border. Border Patrol agents are empowered like never before to shut down unlawful entry and protect American lives,” said Acting Commissioner Pete Flores. “The message is clear: the border is closed to illegal crossings, and for those still willing to test our resolve, know this — you will be prosecuted, and you will be deported."
Border crossings reached their highest levels ever in late 2023 and early 2024. After the Biden administration implemented the CBP One app to allow asylum seekers a time slot to schedule a border crossing to seek permission to enter the U.S., crossings declined dramatically. The app sought to limit the number of asylum seekers the U.S. would process.
Border apprehensions dropped from over 300,000 in December 2023 to under 100,000 a year later.
But since President Donald Trump took office in January, his administration has essentially eliminated all legal avenues to seek asylum in the U.S.
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Immigrant rights groups say the Trump administration's actions have put potential asylum seekers "at grave risk of persecution with no recourse."
“This is an unprecedented power grab that will put countless lives in danger,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “No president has the authority to unilaterally override the protections Congress has afforded those fleeing danger.”
