DHS Reports 98,708 Border Apprehensions, Down 95% as Zero Migrant Releases Hit Full Fiscal Year
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 16
DHS Reports 98,708 Border Apprehensions, Down 95% as Zero Migrant Releases Hit Full Fiscal Year
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 16
Summary
98,708 southwest border apprehensions were recorded in fiscal 2026, DHS said, putting the annual total below half of the 249,740 logged in the Biden administration’s busiest single month.
About 270 apprehensions a day this year compared with roughly 5,000 under the Biden-era annual average, while September marked a 17th straight month with no Border Patrol releases into the U.S.
Chris Clem, the retired Yuma sector chief, said stronger enforcement, deportation risk and interior ICE operations changed the incentive structure that had fueled crossings when migrants expected to be processed and released.
Yuma illustrates the reversal: Clem said daily arrivals rose from about 25 in December 2020 to more than 1,000 a year later, with some days near 1,500 overwhelming agents and spilling into local communities.
Clem warned the gains could be vulnerable to shifts in Congress or a future administration, while DHS and border czar Tom Homan pointed to record deportation activity as evidence the broader crackdown is still expanding.