On the border

Illegal entry to the U.S. has declined dramatically in recent months.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is America’s largest law enforcement organization and the world’s first unified border management agency. The more than 65,000 men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air and on the seas.

Southern border Border Patrol apprehensions and inadmissables processed by month

Apprehensions at the Southern Border dropped below 50,000 per month in February and have been around 10,000 per month since.

Peak: Dec. 2024, 301,981 encounters

May 2025, 12,452 encounters

Southwest border encounters total per year

2022: 2.38 million

2023: 2.47 million

2024: 2.13 million

2025: 405,203 (in 8 months)

Title 42: Enacted March 21, 2020, when the Trump administration determined that because of the coronavirus in Mexico and Canada, there is a serious danger of the further introduction of COVID-19 into the U.S. It allowed for the rapid expulsion of unauthorized border crossers and asylum-seekers. Encounters went below 50,000 per month for the first time in decades.

On Monday, the Border Patrol released three press releases:

2 nights, 5 shipments, over $25 million in counterfeit jewelry

CBP seizes 518 pounds of cocaine inside an abandoned vessel in Rincon, Puerto Rico

Border Patrol agents arrest sex offender

Agents apprehended a Mexican national during routine border security operations. Record checks revealed that the man is a registered sex offender with a previous conviction for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in 2001 in Hidalgo County, Texas. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

You can find their daily releases here.

On a typical day in 2024, Customs and Border Patrol:

Processes:

1,150,387 passengers and pedestrians

88,582 truck, rail and sea containers

270,800 incoming privately owned vehicles

$9.2 billion worth of imported products

105,103 entries of merchandise

$241 million in duties, taxes and other fees, including more than $225 million in duties

Encounters:

4,267 nationwide enforcement encounters between ports of entry

3,682 nationwide enforcement encounters at ports of entry

Arrests 86 wanted criminals at U.S. ports of entry and 49 wanted criminals between U.S. ports of entry

Performs 16 rescues and significant medical lifesaving responses

Seizes:

1,571 pounds of drugs, including 60 pounds of fentanyl

$152,418 illicit currency and other monetary instruments

55 shipments with $15 million worth of products with Intellectual Property Rights violations

Discovers 247 pests at ports of entry

Intercepts:

3.8 million de minimis shipments (If the value of the goods being shipped is under the de minimis threshold of the country you’re importing to, then your package won’t incur any tax or duty fees. It’s like a customs-free pass for low-value shipments.)

3,586 materials for quarantine

5 fraudulent documents

13 shipments worth $4.8 million under forced labor

Flies 204 hours and floats 91 hours of enforcement missions over/in the United States

Sources: Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Justice, NBC Montana

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