In the latest example of the Trump administration’s stunning success on border security, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that U.S. Border Patrol has now delivered twelve consecutive months of zero releases of illegal aliens. During the Biden administration, DHS routinely reported tens of thousands of releases in just a single month.
DHS explained in a statement that this dramatic collapse in illegal border crossings, apprehensions, and releases has not been seen “in over three decades.” Daily apprehensions overall are down 95 percent since the Biden administration, with the Trump administration delivering “15 consecutive months of fewer than 9,000 southwest border apprehensions.”
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised Trump’s border policies for flipping the script on America’s illegal immigration crisis.
“Twelve straight months of ZERO releases at the border. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we are delivering the most secure border in American history,” Mullin said. “The days of catch and release are over. We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott compared the agency’s success in April of this year to the miserable state of affairs in April 2024, Biden’s last year in office.
“What a difference, America! The U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into our country again this month, unlike April 2024 when more than 68,000 were released under President Biden,” Scott said. “Every minute of every day, President Trump’s border security policies are making every American safer.”
The DHS also stated that border crossings during “this entire fiscal year to date were lower than the monthly average the last 30 years.”
In another significant data point, the number of apprehensions per day in April of this year was “less than a single hour during the height of the Biden administration (336 per hour in December 2023) and less than the number apprehended every 2 hours on average under the Biden administration.” CBP has seen a total of 215,876 encounters so far this fiscal year. This total is “13 percent lower than in the month of April 2024 alone.”
DHS also reported that seizures of drugs this fiscal year have increased by 61 percent compared to the same period in fiscal year 2024. The CBP has additionally “seized 53 percent more drugs this fiscal year than it seized on average during the last four years in this same period.” Trump pledged to crack down on drug trafficking in the United States while campaigning in 2024, and his policies while in office are delivering on that promise.
While illegal immigration and border security have largely fallen out of the headlines, Trump’s efforts on this front remain one of the most astonishing success stories of any president in American history.
During the Biden administration, White House officials, congressional Democrats, and their media allies incessantly claimed that illegal immigration was a “complex” issue with many “root causes” that could not be addressed overnight. But Trump proved that to be false literally days after taking office, completely securing the border and shutting down virtually all illegal immigration in a matter of weeks.
DHS has also continued to press forward on Trump’s goal to enact the “largest mass deportation operation” in American history. In 2025 alone, more than two million illegal aliens self-deported, while DHS forcibly deported about 800,000 more. That trend is set to accelerate in 2026 as ICE is flush with fresh officers to arrest and deport illegals.
Democrats and the media will undoubtedly continue to hammer President Trump on gas prices, the war in Iran, and anything else they believe will hurt Republicans in the midterm elections. But Trump’s historic success on the border shouldn’t be forgotten. The President inherited a country facing a full-scale invasion of unvetted, unknown foreigners wreaking havoc on the American economy and public safety.
Under Trump’s leadership, that invasion has been completely defeated, and American sovereignty has been restored.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
