Preliminary Department of Homeland Security figures released Thursday show Border Patrol made 98,708 apprehensions along the southwest border in fiscal year 2026. DHS said that was about 95% below the annual average of more than 1.8 million during the Biden administration. The department’s figures cover apprehensions, a measure distinct from immigration arrests or removals carried out inside the country.
The reported total works out to roughly 270 apprehensions a day across the southwest border, compared with about 5,000 a day based on the Biden-era annual average. DHS also said September was the 17th consecutive month in which Border Patrol did not release migrants into the country, and described fiscal 2026 as the first full year with no such releases.
Retired Yuma Sector Border Patrol Chief Chris Clem recalled a sharp increase in arrivals in his former Arizona sector during 2021. He said daily arrivals rose from about 25 in December 2020 to more than 1,000 a day a year later, with arrivals nearing 1,500 during a particularly difficult three-day period that December.
Clem told Fox News Digital that migrants moved through agricultural fields and into town, and some went to a food bank or knocked on residents’ doors at night. He said bad weather and limited resources made it harder for agents to transport people away from the border. The volume, he said, left agents struggling despite their commitment to their work.
Clem said he believes stronger enforcement and the likelihood of deportation have helped reduce crossings. He described the change in expectations as important, arguing that smugglers previously promoted the prospect that people who reached the border would be processed and released. He credited a combination of staffing, infrastructure, technology and enforcement consequences, rather than one action alone.
He also pointed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations away from the border, saying interior enforcement can reinforce the message that crossing the border does not rule out arrest and removal. Border czar Tom Homan said Thursday that ICE had recorded its highest single-day deportation total since President Donald Trump returned to office. Homan also said September had the agency’s highest monthly removal total, but did not provide figures or define the comparison period. He said fiscal 2026 numbers were still being finalized.
Homan said he visited ICE Air Operations in Alexandria, Louisiana, and observed a removal flight returning Haitians. He described the passengers as having criminal records involving offenses including aggravated assault, sexual assault, kidnapping and battery. The source material does not provide independent details about those cases.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement that the figures showed the administration had delivered on its border-security promise. The department’s announcement does not, in the supplied material, provide a detailed methodology for the preliminary figures.
Clem cautioned that reduced apprehensions do not eliminate the possibility that smugglers or individuals could evade detection. He also warned that changes in congressional control could affect enforcement through funding decisions or policy limits, and that a future administration could reverse current measures. Those are his assessments of possible future developments, not reported changes already made.
Clem said unclear or shifting policy can be used by smuggling organizations to encourage dangerous journeys. He distinguished enforcement from the broader debate over immigration, saying the country should address how foreign nationals who want to contribute might remain, while maintaining border security.
