The number of illegal immigrant arrests by Border Patrol agents along the southern border dropped 85 percent in the last 10 days of January, compared to the same period the year prior, according to the latest data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

“CBP is no longer catching and releasing illegal aliens into the U.S.,” the agency said in a Feb. 18 statement.

“CBP is leveraging legal authorities to take every reasonable step to ensure illegal aliens are placed in detention and expediently removed from the country.”

President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 and immediately signed several executive actions to deter and prevent the entry of illegal immigrants. He declared a national emergency, deployed more troops to the border, increased deportations, and directed the completion of a border wall.

The CBP One app service, set up by the Biden administration to allow migrants without legal entry papers to schedule appointments at U.S. ports of entry, was terminated.

CBP said it has since “dramatically increased active patrols of our international borders.”

According to CBP, the number of “inadmissible aliens” encountered by officers at southwest border ports of entry dropped by 93 percent in the first 11 days of Trump’s presidency compared to the preceding 11 days.

Last month, CBP seized 1,029 pounds of fentanyl. Seizures of methamphetamine jumped 15 percent.

“The men and women of U.S. Customs and Border Protection are aggressively implementing the President’s Executive Orders to secure our borders,” said Pete Flores, acting commissioner of the CBP. “These actions have already resulted in dramatic improvements in border security.

“The reduction in illegal aliens attempting to make entry into the U.S., compounded by a significant increase in repatriations, means that more officers and agents are now able to conduct the enforcement duties that make our border more secure and our country safer.”

Border Encounters and Birth Rights

In November, after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, monthly encounters at America’s southwest land border came in at below 100,000 for the first time since fiscal year 2022. Since then, encounters have remained below that level for three straight months, with January registering fewer than 62,000 apprehensions.

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, highlighted some numbers.

“In the last 24 hours the US Border Patrol has encountered a total of 229 aliens across the entire southwest border,” he wrote in a Feb. 17 post on social media platform X. “That is down from a high of over 11,000 a day under Biden.”

“I started as a Border Patrol Agent in 1984 and I don’t remember the numbers ever being that low,” he added.

Meanwhile, there has been opposition to the administration’s actions to curb on illegal immigration.

Late last month, a group of Quaker congregations sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), accusing the agency of violating their religious freedom by allowing arrests of illegal immigrants who attend their meetings.

On Jan. 20, then-Acting Secretary of DHS Benjamine Huffman issued an executive order rescinding the Biden administration’s bar on arrests in locations deemed to be sensitive, such as churches and schools.

Earlier this month, a U.S. district judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order that halted birthright citizenship of children born to illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 19 directing all agencies to identify federally funded programs providing financial assistance to illegal immigrants and terminate such assistance.

“With this Executive Order, President Trump is ensuring taxpayer resources are used to protect the interests of American citizens, not illegal aliens,” said a White House Fact Sheet.