CBP releases March border crossing numbers, marking lowest to date ever recorded

The latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) numbers show that during March, the southwest border saw the lowest number of crossings ever, with just 7,180 recorded.

"Under the leadership of President [Donald] Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, the administration has taken bold, decisive action to restore control at the border. Border Patrol agents are empowered like never before to shut down unlawful entry and protect American lives," Pete Flores, acting CBP commissioner, said. "The message is clear: the border is closed to illegal crossings, and for those still willing to test our resolve, know this — you will be prosecuted, and you will be deported."

March's numbers — with 1,146 fewer crossings than in February — represent a dramatic drop compared to the monthly average of 155,000 during the Biden administration. Under former President Joe Biden, border agents frequently recorded over 7,000 border crossings per day.

TRUMP REPORTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT HISTORIC LOWS DURING FIRST FULL MONTH IN OFFICE

Migrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, Dec. 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Ariz. (John Moore/Getty Images)

The daily apprehensions along the southwest border have also fallen to about 230 per day, CBP said, which is a number the U.S. has never seen.

CBP said that under the Biden administration, there were an average of 5,100 encounters per day.

The final monthly numbers are expected to come out in the coming days.

TRUMP ADMIN ENDS DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR MASSIVE NUMBER OF VENEZUELANS AMID ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. as they queue at El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico.  (Reuters/Jorge Duenes)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday praised the news about the number of southwest border crossings in March.

"Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, border patrol agents are now back to doing the jobs they signed up for: securing the border, rather than serving as travel agents for illegal aliens," she said. "The Los Angeles Times captured the Trump effect on the border with a recent article. Their headline read ‘California, Mexico border, once overwhelmed, is now nearly empty with so few migrants coming into the U.S.’ They wrote, ‘shelters that once served migrants have completely closed.’ 

"Deportations of illegal aliens who threaten the safety of the American people are also continuing at a rapid pace."

The figures come after Trump announced earlier this month that apprehensions fell to 8,326 in February, his first full month in office, which he said is a record-setting low. The figure marks a 96% drop from the highs of the Biden administration in December 2023.

TRUMP ADMIN ENDS DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR MASSIVE NUMBER OF VENEZUELANS AMID ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 6, 2024. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Following the announcement, Trump defiantly declared that the border is now closed and that all those who crossed the southern border would be quickly ejected or prosecuted for crimes against the U.S.

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Trump has also signed orders ending birthright citizenship, suspending refugee admissions, ending the use of an app at the southern border to admit migrants via humanitarian parole and resuming border wall construction.

Trump’s hard-line approach to illegal immigration was a key campaign promise and his administration has also been arresting and deporting criminal illegal migrants across the country under the leadership of Noem and border czar Tom Homan.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.