Status as of October 18, 2026. DHS and CBP released preliminary full-year border figures on October 16. The total counts U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions along the southwest border, not every crossing or every immigration arrest nationwide. Final detailed data may be revised.
U.S. Border Patrol agents made 98,708 apprehensions along the U.S.–Mexico border in fiscal year 2026, the fewest in a year since 1968, according to preliminary figures announced by the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection on October 16. That is about 58% fewer than the 237,538 recorded in fiscal 2025.
The new annual total covers October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. It marks another steep decline in unauthorized migration detected between official border crossings, but it does not mean nobody entered the United States unlawfully—or that every person who tried was apprehended.
How low are the numbers?
CBP historical figures, reviewed in a Pew Research Center analysis, show the Border Patrol recorded 96,641 encounters along the southwest border in 1968 and 137,968 in 1969. The 2026 figure falls between those totals, making it the lowest since 1968, not the lowest in U.S. history as some official announcements suggest.
The contrast with recent years is stark: the Border Patrol recorded about 2.2 million encounters in fiscal 2022 and more than 2 million in 2023. Comparisons across decades require care. From 2020 to 2023, published “encounters” totals also included Title 42 expulsions, and repeated encounters involving the same person could be counted separately.
DHS also reported 379,243 nationwide CBP encounters in fiscal 2026. This broader number includes activity at official ports of entry and elsewhere along U.S. borders. It should not be confused with the 98,708 Border Patrol apprehensions at the southwest border.
Why did the decline happen?
The administration credits stronger border enforcement, immigration restrictions and the prospect of detention or removal. DHS said the Border Patrol completed the fiscal year with no releases from its custody into the U.S. interior, a claim about that agency’s release practices—not a claim that no one was admitted at lawful ports of entry.
But the decline did not begin in October 2025. Encounters were already falling in 2024 after the Biden administration tightened asylum rules at the border and Mexico stepped up enforcement. After returning to office in January 2025, President Trump imposed further restrictions and expanded enforcement. The monthly trend subsequently remained at historically low levels.
Those policy changes may have discouraged attempts to cross, but the annual arrest total alone cannot measure how much each contributed, how many people entered without detection, or what happened to people who sought protection.
What does this mean for immigration cases?
The numbers describe border enforcement activity. They do not announce a new visa rule, determine an individual’s asylum eligibility, or say anything directly about pending green card or citizenship applications. A person’s legal options still depend on the law and policies applicable to that person’s circumstances.
For those following the border debate, the most consequential distinction is between fewer recorded apprehensions and broader claims about immigration or asylum. The first is supported by CBP’s preliminary statistics. The second requires separate legal and factual evidence. For background on legal entry and inspection at ports of entry, see Factum Immigration’s guide to CBP and U.S. entry.
Official sources
Disclaimer: Factum Immigration provides general information, not legal advice. For guidance on an individual case, consult a licensed immigration attorney.