The border measures are delivering major results.
Migrant encounters at the U.S. southern border have reportedly dropped by 74% since Donald Trump took office for his second term. According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there were 12,500 migrant encounters within the first 15 days of Trump’s second term, averaging around 833 encounters daily. This marks a significant decrease compared to the previous administration’s figures, with the average number of encounters dropping further to 650 per day in the past week.
NewsNation correspondent Ali Bradley shared a graph showing a sharp decline in border encounters under Trump’s second administration, with fewer than 400 encounters reported on February 1. For comparison, the average number of encounters per day in the last three months of 2024 was 3,223. DHS sources attributed the reduction in encounters to the changes implemented under Trump’s leadership, with officials referring to it as the “Trump Effect.”
During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to strengthen border security and reduce illegal immigration. Before his second inauguration, DHS stated that it had made significant efforts to secure the border under the Biden administration, citing a more than 60% decrease in encounters between ports of entry from May to December 2024. The department also noted that encounters in November and December were at their lowest levels since August 2020, with January 2025 encounters nearly 50% lower than those in January 2021.
The DHS attributed the reduction in migrant encounters to increased penalties for unlawful entry and a decrease in the number of migrants released pending immigration court hearings. Critics of President Biden’s immigration policies have blamed the reversal of several Trump-era policies for the surge in illegal immigration, including halting the Migrant Protection Protocols and the suspension of border wall construction.
After assuming office, Trump took several executive actions, including designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and declaring a national emergency at the southern border. This declaration authorized the deployment of additional personnel to enhance border security and directed the completion of the border wall.
