A new, record low number of daily illegal immigrant crossings was set on the United States-Mexico border in July, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.
July 20 saw 88 people arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol, making it the lowest daily number in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) history.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump returned to the White House promising a secure southern border and an end to high illegal entries. After record highs during the Biden administration, numbers had steadily fallen across 2024, but fell even faster following his inauguration in January.
What To Know
The DHS announced preliminary border data for July on Friday, touting that history had been made “again” with low numbers of apprehensions by the Border Patrol.
Looking at the southwest border alone—the region which saw the greatest flow of new arrivals during recent years—CBP made 4,598 arrests between legal ports of entry, around 500 fewer than daily averages seen at points between early 2021 and December 2024.
That month, the total number was close to 250,000 arrests.
Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem have proudly stated that it was the president’s return to office and his strong messaging that has stemmed the flow of immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. from Mexico.
Earlier this week, the DHS also gave Trump credit for a drastic fall in immigrants passing through the Darién Gap in Panama, a notoriously dangerous jungle route taken by those traveling north from South America, often aiming to get to the U.S.
Crossings fell 99.98 percent during May and June 2025, the DHS said, with just 13 and 10, respectively, per Panama government data reviewed by Newsweek, down from a high of around 82,000 during the Biden administration.
While the DHS appeared to blame the former president for the peak, it was also his administration that began a partnership with Panama to reduce the flow.
Along the U.S. borders, CBP has seen a nationwide drop in Border Patrol encounters, with 6,177 arrests across the country, surpassing June’s low. Daily apprehensions were at an average of 148, compared to the 152 every two hours last July, the DHS said.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
What People Are Saying
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, in a press release: “President Trump didn’t manage just the crisis—he obliterated it. No more excuses. No more releases. We’ve put the cartels on defense and taken our border back.”
Republican strategist Matt Wylie told Newsweek in May that Trump should be making more of the fall: “If Trump were to show up at the border and really highlight this and do this in a way that makes sense, very presidential, bring in other members of Congress, it could be a lift, not just for the president, but for Republicans on this issue.”
What Happens Next
Illegal border crossings also fell in early 2017 when Trump first entered the White House, before climbing again months later. It remains to be seen if longer-term policy changes will be introduced to prevent another steep rise in illegal crossings.
