What a difference a new president makes. On its website, U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement has revealed that the Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the interior of the U.S. in May, a staggering drop from the more than 62,000 illegals released into the country in May of 2024 under Joe Biden.
Customs Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks reacted to the stunning statistics on the Fox News Channel.
"It's phenomenal. Anybody that cares about national security knows that under the last administration, we were breaking record numbers of people that were coming into the country illegally and that were being released into the country. To go from over 62,000 down to zero, breaking record numbers in the right direction, now we’re securing our border."
Banks says he will not declare victory yet.
"But I will tell you, we are fast approaching it. We are closer to operational security of the border than we've ever had. Two days ago, we broke another record with 141 entries at the southwest border."
Banks says those entries were all apprehended and none of them will be released.
Acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores says the support of the Trump administration has made the difference.
“Under the leadership of this administration, CBP has received historic support resulting in another 93% decrease in illegal crossings along the southwest border this month when compared with last year,” he said.
In May 2025, the Border Patrol encountered 8,725 illegal aliens crossing the southwest border between ports of entry. This was a 93% decrease from May 2024 when USBP encountered 117,905 aliens. Encounter numbers continue to hold at historic lows, reflecting a border that is more secure, more controlled, and hitting unprecedented levels of operational success, the CBP reports.
CBP’s total number of encounters nationwide, including at ports of entry, averaged approximately 952 per day in May 2025 -- a 2% decrease from April 2025. This was the second-lowest average daily number of CBP encounters in history. Along the southwest border in May 2025, CBP’s total number of encounters decreased 93% from May 2024.
