The Department of Homeland Security closed out fiscal year 2026 with its best numbers ever at the southwestern border, with only a trickle of unauthorized immigrants detected — and not a single one given a catch-and-release.
DHS said Friday that the Border Patrol recorded a 95% drop in apprehensions over the last 12 months, compared to the Biden administration.
That’s the lowest number on record.
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And for the 17th straight month, every single one of the migrants who was caught was either immediately returned to Mexico, detained by DHS or shipped to another authority for detention or prosecution.
By contrast, during some months under President Biden, the Border Patrol would catch-and-release 100,000 migrants.
“President Trump promised the American people a secure border, and the data proves he delivered,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
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He’s operating under the same laws that the Biden administration had. But where the past administration sought reasons for leniency, the Trump team tilts toward enforcement.
With Mr. Trump’s border emergency declarations, increased capacity to detain people who cross the border illegally and restricted access to asylum, the new administration has undercut the incentives that spurred the immigrants to attempt crossing.
Fewer people means fewer border deaths. DHS said that figure is down nearly 80% under Mr. Trump, compared to the Biden administration.
All told, Border Patrol agents tallied 98,708 encounters with unauthorized immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico boundary between Oct. 1, 2025, and Sept. 30, 2026.
That’s by far the lowest on record.
Nationwide, including the northern border and legal entry points, CBP saw fewer than 380,000 unauthorized migrants try to enter. The Biden administration averaged 2.7 million per year.
Fewer people coming has also hit the smuggling cartels, who specialize in drugs but also control the flow of people and charge thousands of dollars for each attempt.
DHS said the cartels have been “disrupted.”
Mr. Mullin and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott were at the border on Friday to take stock of wall-building south of Tucson, Arizona.
DHS says more than 280 miles of new border barriers have been erected since Mr. Trump took office for his second term. Some 86 of those miles are walls in locations where no barrier existed before. Another 97 miles are secondary barriers, providing a line of defense behind an initial wall.
The rest of the mileage is either water barriers or places where existing barriers, such as outdated fencing or vehicle blockades, have been upgraded.
More than 1,170 additional miles are under construction and another 600 miles are in the design phase.
“A secure border, and knowing who’s entering your country, is where you can start actually saying we have national security,” Mr. Mullin said.
The wall system includes the fencing, but it also means lighting and sensors to detect incursions and, usually, roads to allow agents to get to locations quickly.
Border Patrol agents say walls help funnel illegal crossings, making it easier for agents to detect and arrest those who do make it across.
Immigrant rights advocates say Mr. Trump’s success at taming the border has come with a high moral cost, with migrants desperate to flee rough conditions being turned away from applying for asylum.
The changes have also come with a significant price tag.
CBP earmarked nearly $35 billion for wall-building projects between September 2025 and September 2026.
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