Tag Archives: drug seizures

Border Crossings Are Down, Drug Seizures Are Up

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On Sunday, Just the News posted an article citing the results of the Trump administration’s border policies. The numbers are definitely moving in the right direction.

The article reports:

Illegal border crossings remained historically low in June, continuing a trend under the Trump administration.

Last month, 31,626 illegal border-crossers were apprehended nationwide, according to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. The number is up by 6,500 from last June and down by more than 173,000 from June 2024, according to the data.

The total excludes “gotaways” – those who illegally enter between ports of entry to evade capture. Similar to the Biden administration, the Trump administration is not publicly releasing gotaway data. It remains unclear how many are still illegally entering the country.

Apprehensions at the southwest border states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas totaled 12,901 last month, according to the data.

Between ports of entry, Border Patrol apprehended 9,848 last month, another record low. That’s 94% less than the monthly average during the Biden administration and 96% less than during the peak reported at the southwest border in December 2023.

The article notes the increase in drug seizures:

While apprehensions remained low, drug seizures increased last month.

CBP seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana (combined by weight) increased by 49% from June 2024, according to CBP data.

By fiscal year, drug seizures increased by 57% from fiscal 2024. The fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

Cocaine seizures increased the most last month – by 71% from May. CBP officers seized 6,242 pounds of cocaine nationwide. Heroin and fentanyl seizures also increased by 49% and 42%, respectively, over the same time period. CBP agents seized 68 pounds of heroin and 1,072 pounds of fentanyl last month.

The article also cites the number of illegals released into the country:

The Department of Homeland Security again announced June was the 14th consecutive month “of zero releases at the border.”

CBP data contradicts this claim. Every month, unaccompanied alien children (UACs) are released into the country. Fiscal year to date, at least 1,000 UACs were reported illegally entering the country, according to CBP data.

According to federal data, 1,796 UACs were in federal care in June, down from 2,460 in January. More than 1,200 have been released to sponsors this fiscal year through the beginning of June, with the majority sent to California and Texas, according to the latest data.

In fiscal 2025, more than 24,200 UACs were sent to sponsors in the U.S. instead of being returned to their family in their home country. 

That total is down from more than 99,000 UACs sent to live with sponsors in the U.S. in fiscal 2024 and more than 113,000 in fiscal 2023.

The program allowing UACs to enter this country needs to end. There is too much danger of child exploitation in the program.

A Welcome Change

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On Friday, Breitbart reported the following:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this week that April marked twelve consecutive months of zero releases of illegal aliens apprehended by Border Patrol at the southwest border with Mexico into the United States — a milestone officials say reflects the most secure border in American history under President Donald Trump. DHS reports a 94 percent drop in illegal border apprehensions compared to the Biden era, with daily crossings now lower than what agents encountered in a single hour at the height of the 2023 crisis.

Twelve straight months of ZERO releases at the border. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we are delivering the most secure border in American history,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “The days of catch and release are over. We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries.”

Two years ago, Border Patrol agents, under orders from President Joe Biden and then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, released more than 68,000 illegal aliens who were apprehended at the border into the U.S. interior, according to CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott.

It is unrealistic to expect 68,000 to be able to assimilate into America. How many of those became recipients of welfare programs designed for American citizens? How many of them broke additional laws after crossing the border illegally?

The article concludes:

“CBP has seized 61% more drugs this fiscal year through April than it seized during the same period of FY 2024, and CBP seized 53% more drugs this fiscal year than it seized on average during the last four years in this same period,” DHS reported.

DHS officials say the dramatic collapse in illegal crossings — paired with a surge in drug seizures as agents return to frontline enforcement — underscores the scale of the turnaround since the Biden‑Mayorkas years, when more than 68,000 migrants were released into the U.S. interior in a single month. “Every minute of every day, President Trump’s border security policies are making every American safer,” Commissioner Scott said. With year‑to‑date apprehensions down 95 percent and drug interdictions surging, DHS argues the numbers speak for themselves: the era of catch‑and‑release is over.

America’s drug problem needs to be addressed by arresting the distributors and helping the addicted, but fewer illegal drugs coming across the border is always a good thing.