On Thursday, Breitbart posted an article about one of the consequences of closing America’s southern border.
The article reports:
Profits for human smugglers, mainly the Mexican drug cartels, are down significantly, a Treasury Department report details, as President Donald Trump’s policies have drastically cut illegal immigration at the nation’s borders.
A Financial Trend Analysis report from the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) found that United States banks flagged some nearly $5 billion linked to potential human smuggling from 2023 to 2025.
“Many human smuggling networks generate profit for larger transnational criminal organizations, including Mexico-based drug cartels,” FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said in a statement. “Suspicious activity flagged by financial institutions provides critical information, and we will continue to work closely with both the private sector and law enforcement to dismantle human smuggling networks and protect our borders.”
In particular, the report states that human smuggling-related transactions fell 62 percent in 2025, the first year of Trump’s second term, compared to 2024 when former President Joe Biden was in office.
The article notes:
“Again this month, the results are clear: President Trump’s border security agenda is restoring order and putting the safety of the American people first,” Mullin (Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin) said. “DHS remains focused on enforcing our immigration laws, securing the border, and ensuring those who enter our country illegally are removed swiftly.”
In July, fewer than 10,000 illegal aliens were apprehended crossing the southern border. Daily apprehensions, DHS officials said, are down 94 percent compared to the Biden administration.
Securing the border has a lot of financial consequences–human trafficking is down and payments to the cartels are down. Hitting the cartels in the pocketbook is one way to deal with them. It is going to take a lot more than that to get rid of them, but securing the border is a good first step.