Trump’s Border Scorecard: 15 Months, Zero Migrant Releases and Crossings Down 94%

Donald Trump wanted the US border to tell a different story. Fifteen months later, his administration says the numbers are doing exactly that.

July marked the 15th consecutive month in which undocumented migrants apprehended at the border were not released into the United States, according to figures released by the Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection.

At the southwest border, agents apprehended 9,295 people in July, down 6% from June. Nationwide Border Patrol apprehensions fell 1% to 11,298. But the comparison the Trump administration really wants Americans to notice is with the previous presidency. Southwest border apprehensions in July were 94% below the monthly average during the Biden administration and 96% lower than the December 2023 peak, according to DHS. The administration also says total southwest border apprehensions so far this fiscal year remain below the average for a single month across fiscal years 1992 to 2024.

For Trump, who made illegal immigration one of the defining issues of his political comeback, those figures offer a potent argument: the border crackdown is working. What changed? The administration credits aggressive enforcement and a policy of swiftly removing people who enter the country illegally rather than releasing them pending immigration proceedings. “Again this month, the results are clear: President Trump's border security agenda is restoring order and putting the safety of the American people first,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. CBP Commissioner Rodney S Scott offered a similar assessment, crediting “clear policy, strong enforcement, and dedicated frontline personnel”.

But the political significance goes beyond another month of lower crossings. Trump spent years portraying the southern border under Joe Biden as evidence of a government that had lost control of immigration. Now his administration has numbers with which to construct the opposite narrative. 9,295 apprehensions. 94% below the Biden-era monthly average. 15 months without border releases.

The border crackdown goes beyond migrants

The administration is also using its July numbers to highlight its fight against narcotics and smuggling. CBP says nationwide seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana by weight were 26% higher in July than in the same month last year.

Fentanyl seizures rose 3% from June to 1,054 pounds, while heroin seizures increased 20% to 79 pounds. Through July, CBP says it had seized 54% more narcotics than during the corresponding period in fiscal 2024. Agents also intercepted 2.9 million counterfeit items with an estimated value exceeding $2 billion.

Is this the end of America’s border problem?

Hardly. Low apprehension numbers tell an important story about current crossing levels and enforcement, but immigration remains a much larger political, humanitarian and legal issue. The administration's aggressive immigration policies have generated battles over detention, deportation and due process, and the political argument over Trump's approach is far from settled. But on the metric Trump has spent years making central to his border politics, how many people are crossing illegally, the numbers have moved dramatically.

Trump promised to shut the door. Fifteen months of zero border releases gives his administration a number it will be very happy to keep repeating.

(With inputs from ANI)