The Department of Homeland Security states that the United States concluded fiscal year 2025 with the strongest border security in more than five decades, recording historic declines in illegal crossings and enforcement incidents under President Donald Trump’s leadership.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the only category showing a significant increase was the number of terrorism suspects detected attempting to cross into the country. The number of matches to the Terrorist Screening Data Set jumped from several dozen a month to more than 950 in September.
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott stated that the increase reflects improved detection, not an increase in threats.
“The elevated number of TSDS matches is not a surge in new threats—it’s the result of properly identifying the dangerous actors who were always there and our ability to actually identify who is crossing the border after four years of an invasion,” Scott said in a statement.
He told The Washington Times the spike comes from better coordination among agencies since the Trump administration designated Mexico’s largest cartels and several international gangs as terrorist organizations.
The watch list, maintained by the FBI and utilized by CBP, contains biographical data, including names, birth dates, fingerprints, and photographs, of known or suspected terrorists. During Trump’s first term, the agency averaged 360 detections annually—most at legal crossings between the United States and Canada—but the figure rose sharply as the new terror designations took effect.
In May, CBP recorded 416 encounters with terrorism suspects at both borders, surpassing the previous yearly total in a single month. By August, that number had reached 859, and in September, 957. DHS said 922 of those were flagged at ports of entry from Mexico, 23 at crossings from Canada, and 12 by Border Patrol agents between entry points.
“These organizations have killed more Americans than many known terror groups conducting ideologically driven terror attacks, and operate through poly-criminal networks with command-and-control hierarchies,” Scott said. “They generate massive revenue through narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, weapons trafficking and money laundering — using violence, intimidation and political infiltration to advance their agenda.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the results reflect a complete transformation of border security under President Trump.
“This is the most secure border ever,” Noem said.
DHS data show Border Patrol arrests at the southern border fell to 237,538 in fiscal 2025—the lowest level in 55 years. That number topped two million in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 and 1.5 million in 2024.
Most 2025 arrests occurred in the first four months, before new enforcement measures were fully implemented. Over the final eight months, agents apprehended fewer than 58,000 illegal immigrants, averaging about 250 per day.
Search-and-rescue operations, another measure of border strain, dropped from more than 37,000 in 2023 to 2,255 in 2025. DHS also reported six consecutive months without a single catch-and-release at the southern border.
Administration officials said the strategy that produced record-low crossings will continue into fiscal 2026, emphasizing stronger screening, new technology, and expanded cooperation with state and local law enforcement.
