CBP Releases Preliminary Fiscal 2026 Border Data: 98,708 Southwest Border Apprehensions, Lowest on Record, With Zero Releases All Year
Washington — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on October 16 released preliminary data for fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 through September 2026): Border Patrol apprehensions on the southwest border totaled 98,708, the lowest on record. CBP said the figure is a 95 percent decline from the more than 1.8 million per year recorded under the Biden administration, and 60 percent lower than that administration's single highest month alone, 249,740.
Total nationwide encounters for the year were 379,243, also the lowest in agency history — about one-seventh of the 2.7 million per year under the Biden administration, and 88 percent lower than fiscal 2023, the highest fiscal year ever. September marked the 17th consecutive month with zero Border Patrol releases, making fiscal 2026 the first fiscal year with no releases of apprehended border crossers into the U.S. interior. CBP also said alien deaths identified by the Border Patrol fell nearly 80 percent in fiscal 2026, while its Office of Field Operations responded to more than 3,000 medical emergencies and performed CPR on more than 50 individuals in cardiac arrest.
On infrastructure and drug interdiction, CBP said it has completed 250 miles of new border barrier along the southwest border since January 20, 2025, and obligated $34.3 billion for Smart Wall projects from September 2025 through September 2026. Preliminary data show CBP drug seizures in fiscal 2026 totaled nearly 1 million pounds, 63 percent higher than the 600,000-pound annual average of the last four years. On trade enforcement, CBP stopped more than 4,000 shipments valued at over $325 million suspected of involving forced labor, and seized nearly 55.5 million counterfeit goods valued at more than $12.6 billion.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement that the data show strong enforcement works; CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott credited focused enforcement, strong partnerships and frontline personnel. CBP noted that all figures are preliminary.
The 98,708 apprehensions were down about 58% from fiscal 2025's 237,538, an average of roughly 270 per day. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said: "President Trump promised the American people a secure border, and the data proves he delivered."
(Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection release of October 16)
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection release of
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：边境巡逻队车辆在亚利桑那州尤马附近在建的边境墙旁巡逻（资料图，2019年摄）。摄影：Glenn Fawcett，美国海关与边境保护局，公共领域，来源：DVIDS / Photo: A Border Patrol vehicle patrols beside a border wall under construction near Yuma, Arizona (archive photo, 2019). Credit: Glenn Fawcett, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, public domain, via DVIDS
