Illegal Border Crossings Declined 40% in President Trump’s First Month

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported illegal border crossings in President Donald J. Trump’s first full month declined by 40%, a sign border enforcement is working. While the period from January to February historically is one of decline for illegal border crossings, the data show a drop at an unprecedented rate.

“This is encouraging news as in the period from Oct 1, 2016 to the Presidential inauguration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 157,000 apprehensions of illegal immigrants–a 35% increase over the previous fiscal year, with family units increasing by more than 100%,” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement. However, since President Trump took office on January 20, we have seen a dramatic drop in numbers.”

U.S. Border Patrol Apprehensions FY2017 YTD(October 1 – February 28)

*Numbers are subject to change during agency reconciliation of individual records, these numbers reflect the current status and numbers as of 3/1/17.

In the first few days after taking office, President Trump signed Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements, which put an end to the catch-and-release program, increased U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel by 5,000 people and took action to put an end to asylum fraud.

It’s working. A total of 4,808 people presenting themselves at ports of entry on the Southwest Border were deemed inadmissible in February, as compared to 10,899 in January and 15,176 in December. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, 150,825 were deemed inadmissible compared to 114,486 in FY15 and 90,601 in FY14.

Office of Field Operations Inadmissibles FY2017 YTD(October 1 – February 28)

*Numbers are subject to change during agency reconciliation of individual records, these numbers reflect the current status and numbers as of 3/2/17.

“The decrease is also encouraging news because it means many fewer people are putting themselves and their families at risk of exploitation, assault and injury by human traffickers and the physical dangers of the treacherous journey north.”