WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 29,000 migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in January, the agency said on Tuesday, signaling that a drop in crossings over the past year could continue under President Donald Trump.
The arrest tally in January was the lowest level since May 2020 and down from 47,000 in December, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures.
Trump, a Republican, issued an array of executive orders after taking office on January 20 to crack down on illegal immigration, surging military troops to assist with border security and blocking migrants from claiming asylum. At the same time, he took steps to ramp up deportations of migrants already in the U.S.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, grappled with record numbers of migrants caught crossing the border, a trend that peaked at 250,000 arrests in December 2023.
Biden in June 2024 restricted the ability of migrants crossing illegally to claim asylum and worked with Mexico and other nations to limit illegal immigration, leading to a dramatic drop in arrests. At the same time, Biden opened new legal entry programs that his administration said discouraged illegal crossings.
Pete Flores, acting CBP commissioner, said in a statement that fewer crossings meant “more officers and agents are now able to conduct the enforcement duties that make our border more secure and our country safer.”
The falloff in migrant arrests in January came even as Trump ended several of Biden’s legal entry programs. The programs included one that allowed migrants in Mexico to use an app known as CBP One to schedule an appointment to request legal entry.
Trump’s sudden shutdown of the app-based program left migrants with scheduled appointments stranded in Mexico and unsure of their next moves.
