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Trump Administration Delivers Historic Border Security Win โ€” Lowest Apprehensions Since 1970

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Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

The Trump administration has closed fiscal year 2025 with a historic milestone on border security โ€” the lowest U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions in more than five decades, according to preliminary enforcement data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Border agents recorded 237,565 apprehensions in fiscal year 2025 โ€” slightly above the 201,780 apprehensions in 1970 but dramatically below recent levels. The numbers represent an 87% drop compared to the average of the past four fiscal years (1.86 million apprehensions) and showcase what can happen when the federal government finally enforces immigration laws.

This achievement came even though 72% of this yearโ€™s total apprehensions happened during the final 111 days of the Biden administration โ€” before President Trump returned to office and immediately began reversing his predecessorโ€™s โ€œopen-borderโ€ policies.

โ€œFiscal year 2025 shows what happens when we enforce the law without compromise,โ€ said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. โ€œFor too long, agents and officers were handcuffed by failed policies. Today they are empowered to do their jobs โ€” and the result is the most secure border in modern history.โ€


Reversing Bidenโ€™s Border Chaos

When President Trump took office in January 2025, he inherited what many described as a border crisis fueled by Bidenโ€™s mass-release policies. In just the first 111 days of the fiscal year, under Bidenโ€™s watch, 172,026 apprehensions occurred โ€” nearly three-quarters of the yearโ€™s total.

But once Trumpโ€™s immigration directives took effect, the situation changed dramatically. Over the next 254 days, apprehensions plummeted to 65,539 โ€” just 27% of the fiscal yearโ€™s total.

September 2025 alone saw only about 279 apprehensions per day along the Southwest border โ€” a staggering 95% decline compared to the Biden-era daily average of 5,110. It also marked the fifth consecutive month of zero illegal immigrant releases by Border Patrol โ€” a stark contrast to 9,144 releases in September 2024.

Across all entry points, CBP recorded roughly 26,000 total encounters in September, down 89% from Bidenโ€™s monthly averages.


Strong Action From Day One

President Trump wasted no time taking decisive action to reestablish border control:

  • Deployed additional personnel to the southern border.
  • Ended โ€œcatch-and-releaseโ€, ensuring illegal migrants are no longer released while awaiting hearings.
  • Shut down Bidenโ€™s CBP One app parole loophole, later repurposing the app to help migrants self-deport.
  • Paused parole programs and authorized ICE to cancel parole statuses.
  • Ordered strict enforcement of existing immigration laws, restoring morale and authority to frontline border agents.

These policies stand in sharp contrast to Bidenโ€™s approach, which relied on controversial โ€œparoleโ€ programs and insisted on new legislation instead of acting on existing laws.

Report: Trump Admin Sends Over 100 Iranians Back To Tehran In Rare Deal

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By United States Government - https://x.com/PressSec/status/1882759560613527770, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159931598

The Trump administration has reportedly deported a planeload of more than 100 Iranians under a deal struck with the Iranian government.

Iranian officials confirmed to The New York Times that the planeload of migrants took off from Louisiana on Monday night and was expected to arrive in Iran via Qatar on Tuesday. A U.S. official also reportedly confirmed the plan to the outlet.

Monday’s round of deportations is the first step in a larger plan to deport approximately 400 Iranian nationals.

“The Trump Administration is committed to fulfilling President Trumpโ€™s promise to carry out the largest mass deportation operation of illegal aliens in history, using all the tools at our disposal,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News on Tuesday.

The deal marks a rare instance of cooperation between Tehran and the US, which saw heightened tensions in the wake of this summer’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iranian officials told The Times that the deportation deal came about after months of discussions between the two nations.

The identities of the Iranian deportees are unknown, but The Times reported that the group included men and women, some of whom were couples. The outlet also noted, citing Iranian officials, that some of the deportees volunteered to leave the U.S. after spending time in detention centers, while others were not going voluntarily.

Iranian officials also told The Times that in almost every case, the deportees either had asylum requests denied or had yet to appear before a judge for a hearing on their requests.

“We have urged the American government to respect the rights of Iranian migrants and their citizenship rights under international law. They must not be denied consular services, fair judicial process, or the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Noushabadi told Tasnim news agency.

Another official told the news agency that the individuals being deported had left Iran legally, but how they entered the U.S. was “another matter.” For decades, the U.S. had granted refuge to Iranians fleeing political repression due to the regime’s reputation for brutal human rights abuses.

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DeSantis Opens โ€˜Deportation Depotโ€™ in Florida a Day After Alligator Alcatraz Court Victory

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Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Florida Gov.ย Ron DeSantisย has opened โ€œDeportation Depotโ€ migrant detention center in Florida, a follow-up to the embattled โ€œAlligator Alcatraz.โ€

โ€œDeportation Depotโ€ is located about 45 miles away from Jacksonville in the community of Sanderson, at the site of the Baker Correctional Institution.

The facility has the capacity for 1,500 detainees,ย Fox News reported. As of Friday, a little over 100 migrants had been moved there.

DeSantis said last month that he moved to begin work on a new facility to fulfill an urgent need for more shelter for illegal migrants as theyโ€™re rounded up by ICE agents throughout the state.

โ€œThere is a demand for this,โ€ DeSantis told reporters at the time. โ€œIโ€™m confident that it will be filled.โ€

The opening of the new facility came a day after the $250 million โ€œAlligator Alcatrazโ€ was granted a rare win by an appeals court.

The detention center was ordered to ship out all detainees and close within 60 days.ย The rulingย by Judgeย Kathleen M. Williamsย stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the Friends of the Everglades and the Miccosukee Tribe that accused the Sunshine State of violating the National Environmental Policy Act.

A stay on Williamsโ€™ ruling was granted by a three-judge panel in Atlanta on Thursday, pending an appeal. โ€œAlligator Alcatrazโ€ can continue holding detainees for now.

In a video posted on his X account Thursday, DeSantis declared: โ€œThe mission continues on immigration enforcement.โ€

Until yesterday, โ€œAlligator Alcatrazโ€ faced a series of legal and PR losses, with some detainees alleging mistreatment.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Taken Into Custody By ICE

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Arrest image via Pixabay

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the immigrant deported to El Salvador who became a political flashpoint for the Trump administrationโ€™s immigration crackdown, wasย detainedย again on Monday

Speaking to reporters outside the ICE Field Office in Baltimore after Abrego Garcia was detained, his lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said ICE officials had declined to tell them where they were detaining Abrego Garcia prior to his removal, or tell them why they were arresting him. 

“As of the last five minutes, Mr. Abrego Garcia has filed a new lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Maryland challenging his confinement and challenging his deportation to Uganda, or to any other country unless and until he’s had a fair trialโ€” as in, an immigration court, as well as his full appeal rights,,” Sandoval-Moshenberg sad.

The habeas petition, filed in the U.S. District Court of Maryland, was assigned to U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who has presided since March over his civil case.

Abrego Garcia, who fled El Salvador as a teenager and lived in Maryland, addressed supporters before entering his appointment.

โ€œMy name is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and I want you to remember this, remember that I am free and I was able to be reunited with my family,โ€ he said. โ€œThis was a miracle. Thank you to God and thank you to the community. I want to thank each and every one of you who marched, lift your voices, never stop praying, and continue to fight in my name.โ€

Abrego Garcia’s legal fight for months has dominated U.S. headlines, after he was deported by theย Trump administrationย to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order. He faces a possible second deportation, this time to Uganda.

Shortly before his arrival Monday morning, immigration advocates, faith leaders, and other community members massed outside the field office at sunrise for a vigil, organized by two immigration advocacy groups.

The Trump administration returned him to the U.S. months after sending him to El Salvador, under orders from a federal judge and from the Supreme Court.

He was arrested upon return to the U.S. on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennesee. He remained in federal detention until Friday, when he was released from U.S. custody and ordered to return to Maryland, where a judge said he could remain under electronic surveillance and under ICE supervision while awaiting trial.

ICE officials notified Abrego Garcia’s attorneys shortly after his release on Friday that they planned to deport him to Uganda.

The notice, sent by ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Adviser, said it was intended to “serve as notice that DHS may remove your client, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, to Uganda no earlier than 72 hours from now (absent weekends).”

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told Fox News in an interview Sunday night that Abrego Garcia was “absolutely” going to be deported from the U.S, and said Uganda is “on the table” as the third country of removal.ย 

“We have an agreement with them. It’s on a table, absolutely,” Homan said in an interview on “The Big Weekend Show” Sunday evening.

“He is absolutely going to be deported,” Homan reiterated. 

For now, he said, Abrego Garcia “can enjoy the little time he has with his family. And for the person who says we’re not going to separate family, his family can go with him, because he’s leaving.”

Trump Administration Moves To Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia – To Uganda

Gage Skidmore Flickr

New court filings reveal that the Trump administration is threatening to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda โ€” a move his attorneys describe as coercive. Abrego, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year, declined a plea deal tied to human smuggling charges. In response, prosecutors withdrew an offer that would have allowed him to enter Costa Rica โ€” a safe, Spanish-speaking country where he’d face no detention after serving time โ€” and instead pursued deportation to Uganda.

His attorneys argue immigration authorities are essentially offering a forced choice: accept guilt and a path to Costa Rica, or refuse and risk being sent to Uganda, where his safety โ€” and legal protections โ€” are uncertain at best.

As The Hill reports:

Federal prosecutors on Thursday offered Abrego Garcia the option to โ€œlive freelyโ€ with refugee or residency status in Costa Rica after serving prison time forย federal human smuggling chargesย in exchange for a guilty plea, per his lawyers in the Saturday filings.

Abrego Garcia, who wasย mistakenly deportedย to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador, declined the offer on Fridayย to instead returnย to his family in Maryland. He had been imprisoned in a Tennessee jail.

After his return to Maryland, Abrego Garciaโ€™s attorneys were notified later in the day that he must report to an Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) field office in Baltimore on Monday โ€” and that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to deport him to Uganda.

โ€œThe only thing that happened between Thursdayโ€”Costa Ricaโ€”and Fridayโ€”Ugandaโ€” was Mr. Abregoโ€™s exercise of his legal entitlement to release under the Bail Reform Act and the Fifth Amendmentโ€ฆ,โ€ Abrego Garciaโ€™s defense team wrote.

Saturday’s revelations mark a significant escalation, as Uganda recently entered into a U.S. agreement to accept third-country deporteesโ€” but explicitly excluding individuals with criminal records or unaccompanied minors. Abregoโ€™s legal team contends that his criminal charges make such deportation both inappropriate and potentially dangerous.

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Border Wall Supplies Sold Off By Biden To Be Returned To Trumpย Admin

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Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

Sections of the U.S. border wall that had been auctioned off by the Biden administration will reportedly be returned to the Trump administration to support Trump’s “border protection plans.”

The Daily Wire previously reported that the Biden administrationย sold offย portions of the border wall in Arizona for pennies on the dollar in December, just one month before Trump reentered office in a move that critics called an attempt to hamstring the new administration. Now, those materials will be handed back over to the federal government.

GovPlanet, the government supply auctioning site that listed the border wall materials, says that it will expedite the return of the materials to the federal government, citing its support for the Trump administrationโ€™s border security plans.

โ€œGovPlanet has reached an agreement, working with the Office of the Border Czar, to return border wall materials that were previously deemed surplus and sourced by the federal government to GovPlanet via existing contracts,โ€ the company explained. โ€œWe are expediting the transfer of these materials to support the administrationโ€™s border protection plans.โ€

Construction continues on new border wall system project near Yuma, AZ. Recently constructed border wall near Yuma, Arizona on June 3, 2020. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser.

The sale of the border wall materials, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) told The Daily Wire, was an attempt by the Biden administration to hamstring the Trump administration.

โ€œThe Biden Administration is well aware they shouldnโ€™t have reversed the construction of the border wall. If itโ€™s true, theyโ€™re purposefully hamstringing an incoming president, it wouldnโ€™t be shocking,โ€ Crane charged. โ€œWhy would they want to see President Trump succeed with policies they aggressively sabotaged?โ€

The Republican Congressman from Arizona called the sale โ€œa direct affront to the will of the people,โ€ who had given President Trump a mandate to secure the border just a month before The Daily Wire broke the news of the auctions.

The materials will now be handed over to a firm that has been contracted by the government to build the wall, GovPlanet says. โ€œWe value our longstanding partnership with the U.S. government and look forward to continuing to support Americaโ€™s federal agencies,โ€ GovPlanet added. โ€œA third-party firm that has been contracted for construction of the border wall will take receipt of the materials over the next 90 days.โ€

GovPlanet also said that the supplies will be returned to the federal government โ€œat-costโ€ in order to โ€œprotect the millions of dollars that U.S. taxpayers had already invested in this initiative.โ€

Trump Admin. Partners With Indiana To Create New ‘Speedway Slammer’

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The Trump Administration announced an exciting new partnership with the state of Indiana to create a new ICE detention facility modeled after Floridaโ€™s โ€œAlligator Alcatraz,โ€ with the new location called the โ€œSpeedway Slammer.โ€

The new ICE detention facility, which will be established in coordination with the Indiana state government, will be located at the Miami Correctional Facility, located roughly 60 miles north of Indianapolis.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the new facility, explaining that it will allow the federal law enforcement agency to hold another 1,000 illegal aliens at a time.

โ€œCOMING SOON to Indiana: The Speedway Slammer. Today, weโ€™re announcing a new partnership with the state of Indiana to expand detention bed space by 1,000 beds. Thanks to Governor Braun for his partnership to help remove the worst of the worst out of our country,โ€ Noem said in a statement to Fox News announcing the new ICE detention facility.

โ€œIf you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indianaโ€™s Speedway Slammer. Avoid arrest and self deport now using the CBP Home App,โ€ she added, referencing the app that the Trump administration is using to encourage illegal alien self-deportations.

Indiana Governor Mike Braun touted the new partnership with the Trump administration and asserted that the โ€œSpeedway Slammerโ€ will assist ICE in its effort to โ€œremove the worst of the worst.โ€

โ€œWe are proud to work with President Trump and Secretary Noem as they remove the worst of the worst with this innovative partnership,โ€ Braun said. โ€œIndiana is taking a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combating illegal immigration and will continue to lead the way among states.โ€

The โ€œSpeedway Slammerโ€ comes on the heels of Floridaโ€™s โ€œAlligator Alcatraz,โ€ the new ICE detention facility located in the Everglades, which appearsย virtually impossibleย to successfully escape from due to the treacherous natural conditions in the area and the dangerous wildlife that populate it.

Latino District Flips To Trump As Democrats Confess ‘Massive Shift’ On Border Policy

Some Democrats are finally acknowledging they need to course correct on their immigration stance.

A new report from The New York Times revealed some leading Democrat lawmakers have admitted that open borders and immigration are costing the party and

“When you have the most Latino district in the country outside of Puerto Rico vote for Trump, that should be a wake-up call for the Democratic Party,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas).

The report highlighted that Gonzalez witnessed President Donald Trump “win every county in his district along the border with Mexico.” Gonzalez’s 34th district in Texas has swung dramatically from voting heavily Democratic in recent presidential elections to going in favor of Trump in 2024.

“This is a Democratic district thatโ€™s been blue for over a century,” Gonzalez told the Times.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said the Democrat Party “got led astray by the 2016 and the 2020 elections, and we just never moved back.” 

“We looked feckless, we werenโ€™t decisive, we werenโ€™t listening to voters, and the voters decided that we werenโ€™t in the right when it comes to what was happening with the border,” Gallego told the Times. 

In May, Gallego released a border security plan that would speed up asylum seekers’ claims and make other countries do their “fair share” in receiving asylum seekers, as well as take action against cartel violence.

The New York Times reported that various Democrats “are pushing for a course correction they see as overdue,” noting a new proposal from the Democratic policy shop and left-wing think tank Center for American Progress. The organization is calling for expanding legal immigration but also for ramping up border security and clamping down on abuse of the nation’s asylum system, the latter two of which are longtime Republican priorities.

Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, admitted to the Times that Democrats will have to adopt some level of border security policy.

“Iโ€™m happy to argue with Stephen Miller or anyone else about why they are wrong,” Tanden told the New York Times. “But the way weโ€™re going to be able to do that is to also honestly assess that the border has been too insecure, that it allowed too many people to come through and that we need to fix that.”

The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to deport illegal immigrants as well as increase security at the U.S. border. The administration’s efforts have been criticized by progressives and violent anti-ICE protests recently prompted Trump to deploy the National Guard to California.

Trump Signals Support For Legal Protections For Longtime Migrant Workers

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

DES MOINES, Iowa โ€” Speaking at the Iowa State Fairgrounds hours before Independence Day, President Donald Trump said he is drafting legislation to shield long-serving farm and hospitality workers from immigration enforcement actions.

โ€œWeโ€™re working on legislation right now,โ€ Trump told the crowd. โ€œFarmers, look, they know better. They work with them for years.โ€

He referenced cases where immigrant workers had been employed for over a decade before being removed through federal action.

โ€œYou had cases… where people have worked for a farm for 14, 15 years, and they get thrown out pretty viciously. And we canโ€™t do it,โ€ Trump said.

The remarks appear to address the impact of immigration raids, such as those reported at California farms, where labor shortages have followed large-scale enforcement. A significant portion of that workforce is made up of illegal immigrants.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who was present on stage, had initially raised the issue.

After weeks of back-and-forth, Trump ultimately echoed her stance on Thursday night โ€” arguing that those in agriculture and hospitality deserve more authority over who they employ. โ€œWeโ€™re going to work with them, and weโ€™re going to work very strong and smart,โ€ he said. โ€œWeโ€™re going to put you in charge. Weโ€™re going to make you responsible. And I think thatโ€™s going to make a lot of people happy.โ€

Acknowledging that the proposal may not sit well with his partyโ€™s immigration hardliners, Trump added: โ€œradical right people, who I also happen to like a lot, they may not be quite as happy. But theyโ€™ll understand, wonโ€™t they?โ€

He then turned to Rollins and said, โ€œDo you think theyโ€™ll understand that youโ€™re the one that brought this whole situation up?โ€

The comments signal a more pragmatic tone on immigration from the president, who has long emphasized enforcement but now appears open to reforms aimed at stabilizing the labor force in key sectors.

Trump Mulls Arresting Bidenโ€™s Homeland Security Secretary: Watch

President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

President Trump said he is open to considering investigating and possibly arresting Biden-era Homeland Security Secretaryย Alejandro Mayorkas.

During a Tuesday press conference in Florida after a tour of a migrant detention center dubbed โ€œAlligator Alcatraz,โ€ Trump held a press conference alongside Florida Governorย Ron DeSantisย (R) and current Homeland Security Secretaryย Kristi Noem. The President was asked about people calling for the arrest of Mayorkas due to his handling of the southern border under former Presidentย Joe Biden.

NEW YORK CITY (September 11, 2022) Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas lays flowers for USSS Master Special Officer Craig Miller and participates in the September 11th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City, NY. (DHS photo by Sydney Phoenix)

โ€œI ran into former DHS Secretary Mayorkas and I asked him a couple of questions about his disastrous handling of the border. He didnโ€™t like my questions, but the number one question that I heard from people responding to my video was, โ€˜Why hasnโ€™t he been arrested yet?’โ€ The Blazeโ€™sย Julio Rosasย asked the president at Tuesdayโ€™s presser.

Trump blasted Biden for the last-minute pardons he handed out before leaving office. However, the President was unaware of whether Mayorkas received a Biden pardon. He did not.

โ€œWas he given a pardon, Mayokas? Was he not?โ€ Trump asked.

โ€œI donโ€™t believe so,โ€ Rosas said.

โ€œWell, Iโ€™d take a look at that one because what he did is itโ€™s beyond incompetence. Something had to be done. Now, with that being said, he took orders from other people, and he was really doing the orders. And you could say he was very loyal to them because it must have been very hard for him to stand up and sit up and, you know, talk about what he allowed to happen to this country and be serious about it. So he was given orders. If he wasnโ€™t given a pardon, I could see looking at that,โ€ Trump said.

The president was then reminded that the House of Representativesย votedย to impeach Mayorkas, though the effort never made it anywhere in the Senate. The vote in the House to impeach Mayorkas was over โ€œwillful and systemic refusal to comply withโ€ immigration laws.

โ€œHe was impeached, but yeah, it was just a fake impeachment. It was a fake impeachment. But why donโ€™t you take a look at it? I think he was so bad. They were all so bad, look, it was the worst president in the history of our country,โ€ Trump said.

Trump’s remarks against Mayorkas come hours after the President floated potentially deporting billionaire Elon Musk back to South Africa.

โ€œWeโ€™ll have to take a look,โ€ Trump said. โ€œWe might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon! Wouldnโ€™t that be terrible?โ€

Watch:

After a brief ceasefire between the president and his former DOGE lieutenant, the war of words has ratcheted up again over the past 24 hours โ€” with Musk revving up his criticism of the Trump-backed โ€œBig, Beautifulโ€ budget bill. Musk, in a Monday post on X, denounced the legislation and floated the idea of forming a new political party.