Border encounters drop sharply as Trump launches crackdown on illegal immigration

The number of Border Patrol encounters at the southern border in the first three days of the Trump administration is 35% lower than the final three days of the Biden administration, the sources said. The numbers do not include encounters at the northern border, or encounters at ports of entry by Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Office of Field Operations.

On Jan. 17, there were 1,288 encounters nationwide, then 1,266 on Jan. 18 and 1,354 on Jan. 19. That is 3,908 encounters in total.

Numbers fluctuate sharply at the border on a daily and weekly basis, but numbers have been relatively low since June, when President Joe Biden signed an executive order limiting asylum. That followed a historic migrant crisis from 2021 that had shattered records repeatedly.

Trump implemented additional restrictions. On taking office, he signed orders declaring a national emergency at the border, deploying the military to the border and ending the use of the CBP One app to process migrants at ports of entry via humanitarian parole.

His administration has also launched a mass deportation operation, with ICE agents active in multiple cities and states across the U.S.

Trump's administration has also moved to restore border wall construction and reinstate the Remain-in-Mexico policy, which requires migrants to stay in Mexico for the duration of their asylum cases.

Although the data is preliminary, lower numbers will likely fuel speculation about a "Trump effect," in which migrants are discouraged from making their way to the border if they believe they are less likely to be admitted, or more likely to be deported if they are.