We’ve Got New Border Numbers

Leah Barkoukis | May 13, 2025 10:30 AM

The “Trump Effect” continues to be seen at the U.S.-Mexico border, with apprehensions last month down 93 percent from the year prior.

According to new data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection released Monday, CBP averaged 279 apprehensions per day at the southern border in April, compared to 4,297 apprehensions per day in April 2024. A total of 8,383 illegal aliens were apprehended at the border last month—drastically lower than the 129,000 apprehended the same month last year.

Fox News' Bill Melugin has more:

Per CBP data, only 5 aliens were released in April, compared to roughly 68,000 released in April 2024 under the Biden admin.
CBP says the 5 releases were only temporary for special interest court cases.
April 2025 averaged 279 Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal aliens per day. April 2024 averaged 4,297 Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal aliens per day.
Analysis: The border is effectively closed/shut down, catch and release is over, gotaways are minuscule, and there has been no traditional spring surge of migrants arriving at the border.
Messaging, executive policy, and consequences have intersected to create the quietest border in modern history.

BREAKING: Internal CBP data obtained by @FoxNews reveals Border Patrol apprehended 8,383 illegal aliens at the southern border in April, down 93% from nearly 129,000 in April 2024.

Per CBP data, only 5 aliens were released in April, compared to roughly 68,000 released in April…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 12, 2025

“For the first time in years, more agents are back in the field - patrolling territories that CBP didn’t have the bandwidth or manpower to oversee just six months ago,” Pete Flores, Acting Commissioner of CBP, said in a statement to Melugin. “But thanks to this administration’s dramatic shift in security posture at our border, we are now seeing operational control becoming a reality – and it’s only just beginning.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the story on X, writing: "The Trump Effect."