Border Patrol logged fewer than 99,000 illegal southwest border crossings in fiscal 2026, a drop of more than 96 percent from the Biden-era peak and the lowest total in agency history.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the figures Friday, confirming what frontline agents and enforcement advocates have watched unfold for months. U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 98,708 migrants who illegally crossed between ports of entry along the southwest border in Fiscal Year 2026, which ended September 30.
That total stands as the lowest in agency history. It marks a 95 percent decline from the more than 1.8 million migrants per year recorded under President Biden, and it lands more than 60 percent below Biden’s single highest month alone.
Breitbart Texas reported the DHS release and the official statements that came with it. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin tied the numbers straight to the campaign pledge that helped return President Donald Trump to office.
"President Trump promised the American people a secure border, and the data proves he delivered. Over the past year, CBP recorded its lowest numbers in American history. A stark contrast to Biden, where CBP recorded its highest illegal immigration numbers ever,"
Mullin said. He added that strong enforcement works, and that Trump’s leadership plus the work of CBP and DHS personnel have restored control of the border.
The scale of the reversal shows up clearest against the crisis peak. Border apprehensions hit 249,740 in December 2023 under the prior administration. By the close of FY 2026, monthly crossings had fallen to about 8,900.
That is a drop of just over 96 percent from the high-water mark. DHS officials called the full-year result the lowest level in agency history. Total FY 2026 apprehensions of 98,708 were 60 percent lower than Biden’s worst single month.
Preliminary data on nationwide encounters tell the same story. FY 2026 nationwide encounters came in at 379,243, the lowest in agency history. That compares with 2.7 million per year under Biden, seven times higher. Encounters in FY 2026 ran 88 percent lower than FY 2023, which DHS identified as the highest fiscal year on record.
Numbers alone do not capture the policy break. For the past 17 months, Border Patrol released zero migrants into the U.S. interior. FY 2026 became the first fiscal year with no releases by the Border Patrol.
That ends the “catch and release” pattern that defined the prior years. Migrants who crossed illegally were no longer processed and turned loose into American communities while cases dragged on. The shift required sustained field enforcement and a clear directive from the top.
CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott credited focused enforcement, partnerships, and frontline personnel.
"FY 2026 demonstrated what focused enforcement, strong partnerships, and the commitment of our frontline personnel can achieve,"
Scott said. He added that DHS and CBP are securing the border, stopping dangerous drugs and criminals, protecting communities, and giving personnel the resources for the mission.
The results did not appear by accident. On day one of his second term, President Trump signed a series of ten executive orders aimed at securing the U.S.-Mexico border and targeting the Mexican cartels.
Those orders established a national state of emergency and directed additional resources into a whole-of-government push on border security, illegal immigration, and drug trafficking. The approach paired the end of catch-and-release with multi-agency enforcement.
Earlier Breitbart Texas coverage detailed that opening package of directives. A related Breitbart report had already flagged the collapse in illegal crossings and the long streak of zero releases before DHS formalized the full-year totals.
September’s apprehensions brought the FY 2026 total just under 99,000. DHS confirmed the unofficial September figure Breitbart Texas had reported earlier in the week of the announcement.
Secretary Mullin framed the year as a direct test of the enforcement model.
"The results could not be clearer: strong enforcement works. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the hard work of CBP and DHS law enforcement personnel, we have restored control of the border and made America safer than ever."
Scott’s second note struck the same chord on drugs, criminals, and community protection. The agencies present the drop in illegal crossings and the end of interior releases as linked outcomes of the same policy choice: deter illegal entry, stop the revolving door, and back the agents who hold the line.
Put the verified figures side by side and the contrast is plain.
DHS and CBP present these as operational control restored through enforcement, not through rhetoric. Illegal immigrants who once crossed in mass waves met a closed release pipeline and a sustained drop in successful entries between ports of entry.
Taxpayers and border communities lived with the opposite results for years. The new record shows what changes when the federal government stops treating illegal crossings as a paperwork problem and starts treating them as a sovereignty problem.
Promises on the border are easy to make. These numbers show one that was kept.
