Border Patrol reports 10 consecutive months of zero migrant releases
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Border Patrol agents have not released a single immigrant into the interior of the United States for 10 consecutive months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Thursday, citing what officials described as a historically low level of illegal crossings.
DHS said in a press release that data for February showed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded its tenth consecutive month with zero migrant releases at the border, and credited the agency’s “enforcement first” approach for the sustained decline.
“For ten months, ZERO illegal aliens have been released at the border. President Donald Trump promised to secure the Border, and it is a promise we have delivered on,” former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
“We have the most secure border in American history. Our borders are CLOSED to those who break the law.”
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The Trump administration is reviving an immigration policy to conduct neighborhood investigations of aliens applying for U.S. citizenship. (Getty Images)
This trend reflects a broader decline in crossings, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said, adding that the Border Patrol did not release any migrants into the country during this period.
“February marks the tenth month in a row that the U.S. Border Patrol has not released a single illegal alien into the interior of the United States, a clear reflection of the enforcement-first stance that restores the integrity of our nation’s borders,” Scott said.
According to CBP data, agents recorded 26,963 encounters nationwide in February; That number was down 22% from the previous month and 88% below the monthly average during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
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A U.S. Army Stryker armored vehicle guards the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration on July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)
Agents apprehended 6,603 people along the southwest border in February; That figure is 92% lower than the monthly average over the past three decades and 97% lower than the Biden administration’s peak in December 2023, the agency said.
Officials also noted a sharp decline in daily passes; Border Patrol averaged 236 apprehensions per day in February; this is a 95% decrease from the previous administration.
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Venezuelan immigrant Louis Sanchez asks Texas National Guard troops to allow him to pass through razor wire after his family crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 27, 2023, during the Biden administration. (John Moore/Getty Images)
At the same time, CBP reported an increase in drug seizures after agents seized more than 79,000 pounds of narcotics nationwide last month, the highest monthly total since October 2021.
The agency said fentanyl seizures were up 67% from January, while marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine seizures also increased significantly.
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Scott said the agency remains focused on enforcement and national security.
“As threats to our national and economic security continue to evolve, so does our resolve to confront them while fulfilling our mission to protect the homeland while facilitating legal travel and commerce,” he said.
