Border Patrol sets new record with low border crossings

The Border Patrol detected just 7,181 illegal immigrants attempting to sneak into the U.S. across the southern border in March, the White House border czar said Tuesday, marking the lowest monthly total in records dating back decades.

That averages out to about 230 people a day across the 1,950-mile border — less than one person per eight miles of border.

“I started as a Border Patrol Agent in 1984, which was 41 years ago. I cannot recall a single month since then that the numbers have been that low,” border czar Tom Homan said on social media.

The numbers are particularly striking given where things were under the Biden administration, which regularly saw more illegal immigrants in a single day than the Trump administration saw in the entire month.

Experts say the two administrations are a contrast in approaches and a lesson in consequences.

“The last administration had the Border Patrol releasing millions of illegal aliens into the United States, which caused more and more to come. Thanks to President Trump and his game changing policies, those days are over,” Mr. Homan said.

Mr. Trump has declared a border emergency, assigned the Pentagon to help defend the boundary, ended “parole” programs that drew people to the U.S., and shut down the avenue for iffy asylum claims, which earned illegal immigrants a quick catch-and-release under the Biden administration.

Migrants who had been waiting in Mexico for a chance to cross have turned around and streamed back south.

One migrant who did cross — and was quickly caught — told agents he had to wait in northern Mexico for days while smugglers amassed a group of four people to make it worth the attempt.

“The message is clear: The border is closed to illegal crossings, and for those still willing to test our resolve, know this — you will be prosecuted, and you will be deported,” said Pete Flores, acting commissioner at Customs and Border Protection.