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President Trump promised to secure the border, and this week the administration’s numbers show he’s delivering on that promise in a way that the prior administration never did. Homeland Security data released this summer shows nationwide encounters and Border Patrol apprehensions have plunged to historic lows, a clear sign that tough enforcement and restored authority at the border are working.
The numbers are not rhetorical — they are hard, concrete results. In June, Customs and Border Protection recorded just 25,243 nationwide encounters and U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions were down to 8,039, with Southwest Border apprehensions at 6,070, marking a dramatic reversal from the chaos we were handed a few years ago.
Those historic lows didn’t stop in June; they continued into July, when DHS again reported record-setting declines with nationwide encounters falling further and monthly Southwest Border apprehensions dropping into the low thousands. This isn’t coincidence — it’s the direct result of policies that end catch-and-release, empower agents, and put consequences back into immigration enforcement.
Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks joined Fox & Friends Weekend on November 15, 2025 to explain what these numbers mean on the ground, praising agents and confirming that operational control of the border is being reestablished. Banks made it plain: with fewer daily crossings, agents finally have the bandwidth to close gaps left by prior administrations and pursue those who remain unlawfully in the country.
Banks and other enforcement leaders have been blunt about what it took to get here and what still needs to happen next, warning that funding and policy must match tough talk if these gains are to hold. He’s urged Congress to pass the administration’s budget priorities so Border Patrol can rebuild capacity, continue interior enforcement, and sustain deportation operations — commonsense steps any responsible government would take to protect its citizens.
Let’s also be honest about diplomacy: Mexico’s decision to step up its own enforcement and deploy troops to choke off transit routes has helped blunt the flow, and America should welcome partners who stop the cartels before they get smugglers to our doorstep. Cooperation with neighboring nations, paired with relentless U.S. enforcement, is the formula that returns order to our sovereign borders.
Hardworking Americans should take heart that their government is finally prioritizing their safety over political optics. Now is not the time to relax or trust empty promises from open-border advocates; it’s time to fully fund the agents who are delivering results, finish the wall where it’s needed, and keep building on this momentum so the American people never again suffer the lawlessness of the last era.
