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The administration of Donald J. Trump has reached a new record in border control: the lowest number of illegal crossings in the history of the United States.
According to preliminary data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), corresponding to October 2025 — the first month of fiscal year 2026 — there were only 30,561 encounters nationwide, the lowest level since the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began collecting statistics.
The report also emphasizes that, for the sixth consecutive month, the Border Patrol (USBP) did not release any undocumented immigrants within U.S. territory, an achievement that the DHS considers "unprecedented in modern history."
“History made: the lowest number of border crossings in October and six consecutive months without releases. This is the safest border in history,” celebrated the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, in a statement.
On his part, the CBP commissioner, Rodney Scott, stated that the government's goal is to “secure the border and protect the nation,” emphasizing that the results are due to an application “without excuses and without politics” of immigration laws.
The DHS reported that the encounters recorded in October were 29% lower than the previous record low (43,010 in 2012) and 79% lower than those in the same month in 2024.
On average, authorities reported 258 daily arrests, which amounts to less than 11 per hour, a reduction of 95% compared to the daily average during the previous administration.
From January to the end of October, the total number of arrests at the southwest border amounts to 106,134, which is lower than the monthly average recorded under the Biden administration, which exceeded 155,000.
Although the government of Trump celebrates the data as a demonstration of "control and national sovereignty", the immigration policy has been strongly criticized by human rights organizations, which denounce the , the prolonged use of detentions, and accelerated deportations.
Various NGOs, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have questioned the lack of transparency in detention centers and the situation of separated families at the border, while Democratic lawmakers accuse the White House of using border security for political purposes.
The Trump administration argues that the results reflect an "effective immigration policy" based on deterrence and strict law enforcement.
However, experts warn that the decrease in crossings may also be influenced by economic and climatic factors in the sending countries.
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