Trump-era southern border sees migrant encounters plummet by over 60% as new policies kick in

EXCLUSIVE: The number of migrants arriving at the southern border has dropped by over 60% since President Donald Trump took office last week, new data obtained by Fox News Digital shows.

There were 7,287 migrant encounters at the southern border in the first seven days (Jan 20-26) after Trump’s inauguration by both Border Patrol between ports of entry and by the Office of Field Operations (OFO) at ports of entry, with a daily average of 1,041 encounters a day.

That compares to 20,086 encounters in the seven days in the final days of the Biden administration (Jan 13-19) prior to Trump’s inauguration, averaging 2,869 encounters a day.

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That equals more than a 63% decrease in the number of encounters at the southern border.

President Trump entered office last week and immediately declared a national emergency at the southern border, and ordered the expulsion of migrants without the possibility of asylum. 

He also shut down the Biden-era use of the CBP One app that allows migrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry so they can be allowed into the U.S. via humanitarian parole. The numbers suggest that the moves are having an impact at both the ports of entry and for those crossing illegally.

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Fox News reported on Monday that fewer than 600 people crossed illegally into the U.S. on Sunday, and that not a single of the nine sectors received more than 200 illegal crossings. The Del Rio sector – which is the same sector that would sustain over 4,000 crossings per day during the height of the border crisis in December 2023 – only recorded 60 crossings.

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Trump has sent the U.S. military to the border, ordered the continuation of wall construction and has shut down additional parole programs, including the processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. 

Separately, his administration has launched a mass deportation program, quickly racking up daily arrests of more than 1,000 as raids take place in sanctuary cities including Boston and New York City.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem oversaw one of the raids on Tuesday in New York City, saying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement caught “dirtbags” — including an illegal immigrant with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.