Trump Posts That 'Zero Illegal Aliens Have Been Admitted' in the Past 17 Months
WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump posted on Truth Social on October 19 that the United States had inherited "the Worst Border in American History" and that his administration had turned it into "the Strongest and Most Secure Border in the History of our Country," adding that in the past 17 months, "ZERO Illegal Aliens have been admitted to the United States."
The post read: "We inherited the Worst Border in American History, and we turned it into the Strongest and Most Secure Border in the History of our Country. In the past 17 months, ZERO Illegal Aliens have been admitted to the United States! President DONALD J. TRUMP." He made the same claim repeatedly on the midterm campaign trail last week, including at a rally in Dalton, Georgia.
The official statistic behind the claim is the Border Patrol's streak of "zero releases." On October 16, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released preliminary fiscal year 2026 figures (October 2025 through September 2026): the Border Patrol recorded 98,708 apprehensions at the southwest border, the lowest in the agency's recorded history, and fiscal 2026 was the Border Patrol's first full fiscal year with zero releases, with September 2026 marking the 17th consecutive month without releases. Under the official definition, a "release" is what happens when the Border Patrol, after apprehending someone who crossed illegally, lets that person into the interior of the United States to await immigration proceedings; "zero releases" means every apprehended person was instead detained or removed. The metric counts releases, not crossings or apprehensions themselves.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin echoed the figure while touring the border wall in Arizona: "Thanks to President Trump's bold leadership, we have had ZERO illegal aliens released into our country for the past 17 straight months." The White House amplified the fiscal-year data on social media on October 16. DHS emphasized that the figures are preliminary. (GSM, via President Trump's Truth Social post and the DHS release of October 16)
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Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：特朗普总统10月3日在白宫南草坪登上「海军陆战队一号」专机前与媒体讲话。图片来源：白宫官方照片，公共领域。Photo: President Donald J. Trump speaks with members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One, Oct. 3, 2026. Official White House photo, public domain.
