According to information provided by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson and two other sources to Reuters, the number of migrants apprehended while illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in February is anticipated to reach a record monthly low.
As February comes to a close, U.S. Border Patrol is expected to have detained approximately 8,500 migrants at the border, as stated by DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, with two additional sources indicating that the monthly total would be close to a record low.
Following his return to the White House on January 20, President Donald Trump, a Republican, emphasized the need to deter illegal immigration, attributing it to the high levels of migration that occurred during the tenure of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
President Trump's efforts to address illegal immigration included implementing a comprehensive ban on asylum at the border and deploying additional military personnel to support border security.
In response to the asylum ban, the American Civil Liberties Union lodged a protest earlier this month, contending that it contravened U.S. asylum laws and international agreements.
Furthermore, the Trump administration forged new agreements with Mexico and Central American nations to receive deportees from the U.S., and some migrants were relocated to a facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
U.S. Border Patrol's historical enforcement data dates back to 2000. The lowest monthly arrest total on record stands at April 2017, with 11,127 detentions at the onset of President Trump's first term.
Although there was a similar decline in border arrests at the beginning of President Trump's 2017-2021 term—referred to by some as the "Trump effect"—there were fluctuations in the number of arrests in the subsequent months and years.
The projected figures for February signify a notable decline from the 141,000 migrant arrests in February 2024 and a decrease from the 29,000 detentions in January, as disclosed by U.S. government data.