Trump DHS hits 16 straight months with 0 releases at the border
The Trump administration announced that it has gone 16 consecutive months without releasing any individuals apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, a milestone marked on Wednesday. The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection disclosed the record in a statement to Fox News Digital.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the streak demonstrates that the administration’s policies are effective, declaring, “Catch and release is over, consequences are back, and illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows. President Trump made a promise to the American people that he would make America safe again, and he has done just that by giving us the most secure border in American history.”
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott emphasized the agency’s approach, stating, “Border security starts with knowing who and what is entering our country – and controlling it on behalf of the American people. That means people who cross illegally are apprehended, detained and removed – not released into the United States. Our agents are enforcing that standard every day.”
In August, Border Patrol reported apprehending 8,870 people along the Southwest border, a figure that is 5 % lower than the July total. The August apprehension count was 94 % below the average monthly number recorded during the Biden administration. DHS also noted that zero parole releases occurred in August, compared with more than 10,000 releases in August 2024 under the previous administration.
Drug enforcement statistics showed a continued upward trend. Fiscal‑year drug seizures were 73 % higher than the same period in fiscal year 2024 under Biden and 61 % above the average of the preceding four years. Specifically, cocaine seizures rose 28 % in August to 6,724 pounds, while CBP and ICE together seized over 120,000 pounds of precursor chemicals that month.
The August data coincided with the start of construction on a segment of border wall in Arizona, a project that faced opposition from the Tohono O’odham Nation, which argued that the work would damage land sacred to the tribe. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected the tribe’s claim, ruling that the wall would be built within a 60‑foot‑wide buffer zone of federally owned land known as the Roosevelt Reservation. The judge wrote, “Defendants have not yet articulated plans to construct outside the Roosevelt Reservation.”
Markwayne Mullin also told Congress that the primary section of the wall is expected to be completed by June 2027, with a secondary segment slated for finish by summer 2028. The wall is part of a $46 billion initiative that includes 30‑foot steel bollard barriers, vehicle obstacles and technology aimed at curbing illegal immigration and smuggling.