The US border with Mexico is not a safe place. But it may be more dangerous than you think.
Now Border Patrol uncovered a growing threat that could alter America forever.
Border Security Triumph: Lowest Illegal Crossings in 55 Years Under Trump
The Department of Homeland Security delivered a fiscal year 2025 report card that marks the most dramatic border turnaround in modern history, with Border Patrol apprehensions at the southern boundary plunging to a 55-year low of 237,538—down from more than 2 million annually under the Biden administration—while search-and-rescue operations cratered from a record 37,000 in 2023 to just 2,255.
The final eight months of the fiscal year, fully under President Trump’s renewed enforcement, saw fewer than 58,000 illegal immigrant encounters, averaging roughly 250 per day compared to December 2023’s peak of over 8,000 daily under Biden.
Adding October 2025 data, Border Patrol has now logged six straight months of zero catch-and-release at the southern border, ending a policy that previously allowed hundreds of thousands of unvetted migrants to disappear into American communities.
Terrorism Watchlist Spikes 30-Fold—Exposing Cartel Threats Previously Ignored
The only metric to rise was terrorism watchlist encounters, jumping nearly 30-fold from several dozen monthly detections across both borders to 957 in September alone—a surge Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott celebrated as proof that finally designating Mexico’s smuggling cartels and gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as terrorist organizations is working exactly as intended.
“The elevated number of TSDS matches is not a surge in new threats — it’s the result of properly identifying the dangerous actors who were always there and our ability to actually identify who is crossing the border after four years of an invasion,” Mr. Scott said in a statement to The Times.
“These organizations have killed more Americans than many known terror groups conducting ideologically driven terror attacks, and operate through poly-criminal networks with command-and-control hierarchies,” he said.
“They generate massive revenue through narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, weapons trafficking, and money laundering — using violence, intimidation, and political infiltration to advance their agenda.”
Of September’s 957 watchlist hits, 922 were flagged at official Mexican ports of entry, 23 at Canadian crossings, and only 12 by Border Patrol—11 at the southern boundary—revealing how cartels pivot to legal channels when illegal routes are locked down. The watchlist, maintained by the FBI and shared across agencies, now includes biometric data on cartel operatives who previously evaded detection under looser Biden-era protocols.
Critics Downplay Cartel Danger, But Six Straight Months of Zero Catch-and-Release Prove Policy Works
Open-border advocates claim the crackdown blocks legitimate asylum claims, yet the numbers expose the myth: asylum processing continues at ports of entry, while illegal crossings have virtually vanished.
Critics like the Brennan Center’s Rachel Levinson-Waldman argue the watchlist spike merely sweeps in distant cartel associates, but law-enforcement officials counter that every name added meets strict evidentiary standards.
“This is the most secure border ever,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “We’ve ended the invasion, protected American lives, and proven that strong borders and smart designations stop the flow of drugs, gangs, and terror threats before they reach our neighborhoods.”
