The Department of Homeland Security says the United States has now gone 16 consecutive months without releasing a single illegal alien into the country at the border. President Donald Trump’s second-term border policy has ended the catch-and-release system that spiraled out of control during the Biden years. “Sixteen straight months of zero releases at the border proves that President Trump’s policies are working,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin in a press release. Mullin continued, “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.”
In August, Border Patrol recorded 8,870 apprehensions along the southwest border, five percent lower than July. Nationwide, agents recorded 10,939 apprehensions, down three percent from the month before. DHS says those southwest numbers are 94 percent below the monthly average under Biden, 97 percent below the December 2023 peak, and lower than what Border Patrol processed in five days in August of last year.
