Border Patrol recorded 8,870 southwest border apprehensions in August while the Department of Homeland Security said authorities completed a 16th consecutive month without releasing people apprehended at the border into the United States.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. border authorities recorded another decline in apprehensions in August as the Department of Homeland Security announced that Border Patrol had completed 16 consecutive months without releasing people apprehended at the border into the United States.
Southwest border apprehensions totaled 8,870 during August, a 5% decline from July, while nationwide Border Patrol apprehensions fell 3% to 10,939, according to figures released Wednesday by DHS.
DHS said the August southwest border total was 94% below the monthly average recorded during former President Joe Biden’s administration and 97% below the December 2023 peak. The department also said Border Patrol apprehended fewer people along the southwest border during the entire month than it processed over five days in August 2024.
The department characterized current illegal crossings and apprehensions as being at levels not recorded in more than three decades and credited President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies for the decline. Those descriptions reflect the administration’s assessment of the border data.
“Sixteen straight months of zero releases at the border proves that President Trump’s policies are working,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.
“Catch and release is over, consequences are back, and illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows. President Trump made a promise to the American people that he would make America safe again, and he has done just that by giving us the most secure border in American history,” Mullin continued.
DHS and Customs and Border Protection announced the 16-month release figure as part of their August enforcement report. The agencies said people apprehended after illegally crossing are being detained and removed rather than released pending immigration proceedings.
“Border security starts with knowing who and what is entering our country – and controlling it on behalf of the American people,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “That means people who cross illegally are apprehended, detained and removed – not released into the United States. Our agents are enforcing that standard every day.”
The latest border figures come alongside an increase in immigration arrests inside the country.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 50,925 people described by DHS as illegal aliens during August, setting what the department said was a monthly record. The August total surpassed 50,208 arrests in July, while June recorded 43,900, making August the third consecutive month in which DHS said ICE established a new monthly high.
The August ICE total represents arrests made within the United States and is separate from Border Patrol apprehensions at the nation’s borders.
DHS announced the August ICE figures earlier this month, describing the increase as part of the administration’s expanded interior immigration enforcement campaign.
Mullin described the border enforcement streak as “promises made and promises kept” and urged people who are in the United States illegally to leave voluntarily, warning that federal immigration authorities would otherwise seek to arrest and deport them.
The August numbers extend a year-and-a-half period in which Border Patrol apprehensions have remained substantially below the levels recorded during the previous administration, while DHS has simultaneously increased arrests of people already living inside the United States.
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