Southwest illegal border crossings reach lowest level for one year in U.S. history
Southwest border apprehensions dropped by 95% from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, CBP said.
By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor justthenews.com 10-18-26
Illegal border crossings at the southwest border reached their lowest level in U.S. history over the past fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection preliminary fiscal 2026 data.
Southwest border apprehensions dropped by 95% from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, CBP said.
CBP made the announcement on Saturday without publishing the data for the month of September. An estimate by The Center Square puts September nationwide encounters and apprehensions at close to 30,000. Every month, this number has hovered between 30,000 and 34,000, with the exception of February, according to CBP data.
Southwest apprehension totals hovered between 9,000 and 12,000 over the past fiscal year. At the northern border, they fluctuated between 3,500 and 6,500, according to CBP data.
Over the past fiscal year through Aug. 31, nearly 350,000 had been apprehended nationwide, The Center Square reported.
The total number of apprehensions is down from 3.2 million reported in 2023, the highest on record, according to CBP data.
The Trump administration again claimed fiscal 2026 is “the first-ever fiscal year with zero Border Patrol releases. September marked the 17th consecutive month with ZERO releases.”
According to federal policy, unaccompanied alien children (UACs) are consistently released into the country, including to so-called sponsors. In fiscal 2026, 8,348 UACs were reported nationwide, according to CBP data through Aug. 31. The majority, 7,608, were at the southwest border, according to the data.
“FY 2026 demonstrated what focused enforcement, strong partnerships, and the commitment of our frontline personnel can achieve,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in a statement. “DHS and CBP are securing the border, stopping dangerous drugs and criminals, protecting communities, and ensuring our personnel have the resources necessary for this critical mission.”
CBP says its “enforcement posture” drove Border Patrol apprehensions to their lowest level in agency history of less than 99,000. It is referring to southwest border apprehensions between ports of entry. When apprehensions at ports of entry are included, the number is higher. Total apprehensions at the southwest border through Aug. 31 were 128,000, according to CBP data.
According to CBP’s Saturday announcement, CBP preliminary data shows total nationwide encounters in fiscal 2026 were the lowest in agency history at 379,243, compared to the 2.7 million per year reported under the Biden administration. This puts fiscal 2026 encounters at 88% lower than those during fiscal 2023, a year with the most encounters reported in U.S. history.
Neither the Biden nor Trump administrations publicly release gotaway data to disclose how many foreign nationals illegally enter between ports of entry to intentionally evade capture. Under the Biden administration, more than 2 million gotaways were reported, according to data exclusively reported by The Center Square after obtaining it from Border Patrol agents.
Gotaways are still coming through under the Trump administration. In Texas, they are being apprehended by Texas Operation Lone Star border security law enforcement working with Border Patrol. Federal troops are also at the southwest border responding to cartel shootings and supporting CBP and Border Patrol efforts, The Center Square reported.
The 95% drop at the southwest border reflects “sustained enforcement and the deterrent effect of a secure border. Illegal aliens have received a clear message: don’t try to enter the country illegally, or you will be apprehended, detained, and deported,” CBP said. These policies are also “saving lives by reducing unlawful crossings, leading to a dramatic decline in border-related deaths,” it added, without stating the number of deaths.
At the same time, more Americans and noncitizens have been shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Three shootings have occurred in Texas alone, leading to two deaths of Hispanic men, including one U.S. citizen. The second shooting in Houston prompted Gov. Greg Abbott to call for a state investigation.
ICE and Border Patrol agents have also been the target of violence, with assaults against ICE up by more than 1,700% nationwide, The Center Square reported. Federal agents in Texas have been a consistent target of high-profile shootings, bomb threats, white powder being mailed among other threats. In these cases, the shooters and those making bomb threats were killed or convicted of domestic terrorism.
The administration has so far completed 250 miles of new border barrier construction along the southwest border since January 20, 2025. Through the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” CBP obligated $34.3 billion to support Smart Wall projects along the southwest border. Several billion of these funds were awarded to construction companies with a history of scandals, The Center Square reported.
The administration is also being sued over border wall construction in the Big Bend region of Texas. The case is before the U.S. Supreme Court after a federal judge halted construction.
With more agents in the field, more drugs are being apprehended. According to preliminary CBP data, drug seizures in fiscal 2026 totaled a record nearly one million pounds, the agency said. This represents a 63% increase from the 600,000-pound annual average over the last four years.
