Kristi Noem, DHS Secretary | official facebook
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have reported that Fiscal Year 2025 ended with the lowest number of U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions at the southwest border since 1970, totaling 237,565 apprehensions. This marks a significant decrease compared to previous years.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stated, “We have had the most secure border in American history and our end of year numbers prove it. We have shattered multiple records this year and once again we have broken a new record with the lowest number of Southwest border apprehensions in 55 years,” adding, “Under President Trump, we have empowered and supported our law enforcement to do their job and they have delivered.”
The report highlights that the majority of apprehensions occurred during the first part of the fiscal year under the Biden Administration, with 172,026 individuals apprehended during the initial 111 days. The following 254 days saw 65,539 apprehensions under the current administration.
When comparing figures from prior years, Fiscal Year 2025’s total is not only lower than FY1970’s count of 201,780 but also represents an 87 percent decline from the average annual total for the past four fiscal years, which stood at about 1.86 million.
Nationwide encounters in September reached approximately 26,000—down slightly from August—and are reported as being significantly below monthly averages seen under previous administrations.
Additionally, DHS noted that September was the fifth consecutive month without any releases by Border Patrol along the southwest border—a change from September last year when there were over nine thousand such releases.
Finalized data for Fiscal Year 2025 is expected to be published in full in coming weeks.
