Illegal Border Crossings Hit Record Low in July, CBP Reports

Illegal border crossings nationwide fell to their lowest level in recorded U.S. history in July, according to new U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

“CBP shut down illegal crossings again this month, setting enforcement records and collecting billions in tariffs,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “This is what making America great and safe again looks like.”

CBP reported 24,628 encounters and apprehensions nationwide in July — a sharp drop from 170,180 last July, 245,154 in July 2023, and 238,929 in July 2022.

These figures exclude “got aways,” individuals who crossed illegally between ports of entry without being apprehended or filing immigration claims. Border Patrol agents have reported more than two million got aways during the Biden administration, with former Trump officials arguing the true number is far higher.

Border-by-Border Breakdown

Northern border: 6,296 illegal crossers in July, down from 7,832 earlier this year and a record 18,569 in July 2023.
Air, land, and seaports: 10,500 encounters.
Southwest border: Numbers plummeted from a record 200,162 in July 2022. No migrants were released through parole programs this July, compared to 12,365 last year under the Biden administration.

Who Is Crossing?

This fiscal year through July, CBP reported 639,826 illegal border crossers:

457,785 were single adults — the largest category.
The rest were family units, unaccompanied alien children (UACs), and accompanied minors.

UAC encounters have also dropped sharply:

152,880 in fiscal 2022
137,992 in 2023
110,672 in 2024
27,980 so far this fiscal year

Nearly all UACs are released into the U.S. through a federal program criticized for fraud and child exploitation concerns. Of the 300,000 juveniles released under one parole program, nearly 19,000 had criminal arrests, and about 1,000 had known gang ties or were charged with federal racketeering and sex crimes.

Trump Administration Policies

CBP credited the drop in illegal entries to executive actions taken by President Donald Trump on his first day in office, including:

Declaring a national emergency at both borders and labeling the situation an invasion
Designating cartels and violent gangs as foreign terrorist organizations
Reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy
Deploying 10,000 U.S. troops to the southwest border
Ending Biden-era parole programs
Launching mass deportations and repatriation programs
Detaining violent offenders at Guantanamo Bay