Fewer people were caught illegally crossing the U.S. border with Mexico in January, dropping below 40,000 for the first time since July 2020—the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released its January update on Monday, with leaders touting an 85 percent drop in arrests between January 21 and 31 after President Donald Trump took office.
Border crossings often drop between December and January, CBP data has shown from 2017 through 2025, but CBP said the latest drop was also down to the implementation of Trump’s new border policies.
Why It Matters
Illegal crossings at the southwest border hit a record high in December 2023, during former President Joe Biden’s term in the White House, highlighting the difficulty the administration was having in curtailing the flow of new arrivals. President Trump’s promise to crack down on border security has been cited as one of the driving reasons for his return to office.
An NPR/Ipsos poll, conducted between February 7-10, showed no new policy received more than 50 percent of participants’ support. Thirty-two percent of voters believe Trump’s policies go too far and 29 percent say they don’t go far enough.
What To Know
January of this year saw 29,116 immigrants caught by the Border Patrol between official ports of entry, down from 47,316 in December 2024. The dip follows similar trends seen at the beginning of the past seven years, but the number was the lowest monthly statistic since July 2020—38,536—when border measures were at some of their strictest.
These numbers do not include inadmissible immigrants also detained by officials at ports of entry, who may not have had official documentation or an appointment for an interview through the now-defunct CBP One app.
When Trump first entered the White House in January 2017, a similar dip in crossings could be seen, falling from 43,251 in December 2016 under former President Barack Obama, to 18,754 in February 2017.
The figures fell even further for the next few months, before steadily rising over the next few years, before the pandemic hit in early 2020. Again, numbers dipped as the previous Trump administration effectively closed the borders, but illegal crossings quickly began climbing again in the summer of 2020 through to their peak under Biden.
January’s update from CBP is notably shorter than those seen over the past few years, in part down to multiple Biden-era policies being thrown out by the new administration.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Ending CBP One appointments, and therefore a flow of new arrivals, led to a 93 percent drop in inadmissible immigrants at ports of entry between January 20 and 31, the agency said, adding that a “case-by-case review” process is now in place.
Catch-and-release, which saw CBP release those not seen as a threat into the country while their case was pending, has effectively ended, the update said, with illegal immigrants immediately returned across the border instead.
Trump’s executive orders also saw members of the U.S. military dispatched to the border, to assist in patrolling the near-2,000-mile stretch of land. These officers have been effective in helping to secure the border, the agency added.
What People Are Saying
Eric Ruark, director of research and sustainability at NumbersUSA, a right-leaning immigration policy group, told Newsweek: “President Trump sent a powerful message that the U.S. government will no longer release inadmissible aliens into the interior of the country, discouraging many from undertaking the expensive and dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border in the first place.
“The cartels are evaluating the new situation and will certainly probe America’s border defenses. There will also be court challenges to President Trump’s border crackdown. It’s far too early for a victory lap, but it is a massive step forward. The real challenge remains of how to deal with the millions of illegal immigrants who entered the country over the last four years.”
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, told Newsweek: “This continues the decline in border arrests over the last year. The decline sharpened at the end of the month after the inauguration. It is no surprise that more immigrants are waiting to see how the administration’s new policies change the situation in the United States before crossing. We saw a dip like this in 2017, and within a year, crossings were higher than before.”
Pete Flores, Acting CBP Commissioner, in a press release: “The reduction in illegal aliens attempting to make entry into the U.S., compounded by a significant increase in repatriations, means that more officers and agents are now able to conduct the enforcement duties that make our border more secure and our country safer.”
Border czar Tom Homan, on X Monday: “In the last 24 hours the US Border Patrol has encountered a total of 229 aliens across the entire southwest border. That is down from a high of over 11,000 a day under Biden. I started as a Border Patrol Agent in 1984 and I don’t remember the numbers ever being that low. President Trump promised a secure border and he is delivering.”
What’s Next
February’s monthly update, likely released mid-March, will be the first full month of data for the new Trump administration, as it continues its efforts to halt illegal immigration and deport large numbers of those without legal status living in the U.S.
Update 02/18/25 5:10 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from David Bier.
