JD Vance to Visit Border as Illegal Crossings Reach Record Lows
Vice President JD Vance, along with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, is set to visit the U.S. southern border on Wednesday at a time when illegal border crossings have dropped to historic lows.
This visit comes as the Trump administration continues its “whole of government” approach to addressing border security and ramping up deportations. As The Daily Wire reported, Vance, Hegseth, and Gabbard will tour a federal immigration facility in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Record Decline in Illegal Border Crossings
Since Trump took office, illegal crossings have declined to levels not seen since the 1960s.
Border Patrol reports that approximately 359 migrants are processed daily at the southern border—marking a 90% decrease compared to the same period last year under the Biden administration.
During Biden’s tenure, border security faced significant challenges, particularly when Texas authorities took control of a park previously used to process and release incoming migrants.
The Trump administration has pledged to fully support mass deportation efforts using the “full might” of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). This week’s visit aligns with that commitment.
Trump Administration’s Immigration Crackdown
“In 30 days, the president sealed the border shut, declared the cartels to be terrorist organizations, has increased ICE deportations to levels not seen in decades, and we are shortly on the verge of achieving a pace and speed of deportations this country has never before seen,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller recently stated.
Internal data obtained by Axios confirms that illegal border crossings fell to their lowest level in decades in February.
Since Trump reinstated his strict immigration policies and intensified enforcement, the numbers have continued to drop sharply.
“The Invasion of our Country is OVER,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday, celebrating the decrease in crossings.
Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh of the Migration Policy Institute, who monitors border data closely, noted that the decline reflects a combination of Trump’s policy shifts and trends that began months before he took office.
In February, Border Patrol agents apprehended roughly 8,300 migrants who crossed the border illegally between ports of entry.
Border Numbers Plunge Amid Policy Changes
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, Border Patrol reported 29,100 encounters in January—significantly lower than the 47,300 encounters recorded the previous month.
February’s figures mark the lowest levels recorded since FY2000, when the agency first began publicly reporting monthly data.
For comparison, encounters in February 2023 and 2024 stood at approximately 130,000 each year.
Putzel-Kavanaugh highlighted a “really key” factor behind the sharp decline—one that, in her view, “often goes a bit under the radar.”
Sweeping Crackdown Disrupts Immigration System
From the moment Trump returned to office, his administration began implementing a strict crackdown that sent shockwaves through the immigration system.
Officials swiftly shut down a mobile app that had allowed some migrants to enter the U.S. legally, increased the use of military planes for deportations, and widely publicized plans for mass removals.
Thousands of migrants found themselves stranded in Mexico after CBP disabled the CBP One mobile app, which had previously facilitated appointments for asylum screenings.
“The calculus was really starting to shift [prior to the app being shut down] where people were waiting in Mexico to get those appointments and be able to be processed that way, because there would still be access to humanitarian protection,” Putzel-Kavanaugh explained.
The Role of Mexico in Border Enforcement
Mexico plays a critical role in maintaining low border crossings, but tensions in U.S.-Mexico diplomacy and an escalating trade war could impact future immigration enforcement discussions.
As the Trump administration presses forward with its border security agenda, the effects of its hardline policies are already being felt—but the long-term impact remains uncertain.