In less than 100 days, the Trump Administration has locked the border down tight, with February and March border crossing numbers hitting historic lows. March numbers show a 94% drop in illegal crossings.
It follows February crossings of roughly 8,300 illegal migrants — the lowest in at least 25 years.
Sources told the New York Post that it’s the “Trump Effect” at work; migrants are “scared there are consequences now,” said one DHS source, adding “everyone who is caught is charged and does time.”
“Illegal entries into the United States are no longer a backdoor way to getting status,” said another source.
Most of the roughly 7,000 crossings took place in the San Diego and El Paso border sectors, sources said.
From The New York Post:
If the border crossings continue to stay at these levels, the US could see the number of illegal migrants hit a low not seen since 1968.
Upon entering office, Trump declared an emergency at the border, sent thousands of additional troops to the region, shut off the asylum system to illegal crossers and commenced a mass deportation effort across the US.
With crossings slowing to a trickle, Border Patrol has closed several processing centers used to hold migrants for short periods of time.
Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has “maxed out” its detention space and is asking Congress to fund additional beds to support its mass deportation campaign that yielded 32,000 arrests in its first 50 days.
The Trump administration is ramping up efforts to deport Tren de Aragua gangbangers and members of MS-13, 17 of whom were handed over to El Salvador Sunday night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X.
“Last night, in a successful counter-terrorism operation with our allies in El Salvador, the United States military transferred a group of 17 violent criminals from the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 organizations, including murderers and rapists. In order to keep the American people safe, [President Trump] designated the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. These criminals will no longer terrorize our communities and citizens,” Rubio shared on X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke about the historic border numbers during Tuesday’s press briefing.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, border patrol agents are now back to doing the jobs they signed up for: securing the border rather than serving as travel agents for illegal aliens.”
pic.twitter.com/aZr3nCeWYz— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 1, 2025
