Trump administration's immigration crackdown leads to historic low border apprehensions

WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump has celebrated a significant decrease in illegal border crossings, with February seeing just over 8,000 apprehensions. Trump described this as the "lowest number of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country in history."

The decline in border crossings is attributed to stricter enforcement measures. "There's no big surprise here. If there's a consequence for breaking the law, you're going to have less people breaking the law. And so we're providing that consequence. And in doing so, it's driven those numbers down," said U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks.

This enforcement has reportedly led to a "reverse migration," with some individuals returning through the perilous Darién Gap to countries they initially fled. Meanwhile, the Pentagon plans to deploy an additional 3,000 troops to bolster border security, a move that has drawn criticism from some Democrats. They argue that such actions could signal to adversaries that the U.S. military is less capable, potentially compromising national safety.

In another aggressive move, the Trump administration has repurposed facilities like Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, to detain individuals arrested within the country. Additionally, the Mexican government recently extradited 29 high-level cartel leaders to the U.S., including one sought by American officials for over 40 years.

"The Justice Department will find and hold accountable the leaders of deadly transnational criminal organizations that harm the American people, no matter where they are in the world and no matter how long it takes," said U.S. Attorney John J. Durham.

These developments suggest increased cooperation from Mexico, possibly due to pressure from Trump, who recently criticized Mexico for not doing enough to curb fentanyl trafficking and threatened tariffs starting Tuesday.

Editor's Note: The National News Desk's Kristine Frazao contributed to this report.