President-elect Donald Trump’s promises of a swift crackdown on the border are causing anxiety among migrants, who are now reconsidering their decision to enter the US illegally even before he takes office.
According to officials along the US-Mexico border, the surge of illegal crossings, which reached approximately 8 million under Vice President Kamala Harris as the “border czar” during the Biden administration, has significantly decreased since the presidential election.
According to border agents, the number of illegal migrants crossing the Mexican border has significantly decreased since the 2024 presidential election.
They believe the timing of these events is not a coincidence.
According to a Border Patrol source, the pace of activity at the southern border has been quite sluggish. However, there seems to be a gradual improvement in foot traffic since November, after a chaotic period lasting almost four years.
He expressed his eagerness to resume their duty of safeguarding American citizens from potential threats, stating, “We are eagerly awaiting the green light to get back to our primary responsibility.”
According to a border officer, agents are expressing a sense of rejuvenation as their workloads become more manageable due to a decrease in illegal crossings. They feel like they are regaining their effectiveness and efficiency in carrying out their duties.
In certain border sectors, agents have witnessed a significant reduction in the number of migrants, with the figure being nearly halved. A source at the El Paso, Texas border revealed that at a certain period, agents were handling the processing of approximately 1,500 illegal migrants on a daily basis.
The number has since decreased to 800.
In San Diego, border agents apprehended approximately 2,000 migrants daily last year, making it one of the leading areas for illegal border crossings.
During his presidency, there was a surge in illegal border crossings, with approximately 8 million recorded under the Biden administration.
According to Manny Bayon, the president of the National Border Patrol Council for the San Diego sector, agents are currently making approximately 1,000 apprehensions per day. He also mentioned that Mexico has increased its military presence and checkpoints leading up to Trump’s inauguration on January 20th.
Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland of Terrell County, a remote border region in the mountainous West Texas desert, has noticed a recent increase in illegal crossings. However, he made it clear that this uptick is unrelated to the upcoming change in administration.
According to him, there has been a decrease in overall border crossings compared to the peak in 2024. During that time, officers witnessed a staggering 417% increase in apprehensions of illegal migrants and a significant 467% increase in gotaways.
Tom Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has been chosen by Trump to serve as his administration’s border czar. His role will involve overseeing what Trump has promised to be “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
Cleveland observed, “We have returned to the same state of affairs that existed before the Biden administration’s ebb and flow.”
During each year of Biden’s term, the US population saw an unprecedented increase of 0.6% due to the surge in immigration. This rise in migration is comparable to the levels seen during the Ellis Island era of the 1850s.
The foreign-born population in America has reached an all-time high, accounting for 15.2% of the total population. This surpasses the previous record of 14.8% set in 1890, which was just two years before the iconic New York immigrant gateway opened to accommodate the growing number of immigrants. This information comes from the Congressional Budget Office and the US Census Bureau.
Since the beginning of his presidency, Biden has been clear about his priorities regarding immigration. In January 2021, he took action to reverse the strict immigration policies implemented during the Trump era. These policies had contributed to a significant influx of migrants from Central and South America crossing the US-Mexico border.
As Trump gears up for his second term in the White House, the stage is primed for the pendulum to swing back once again.
The Biden administration has selected Tom Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to serve as their border czar. Homan is known for his straightforward approach and will be responsible for overseeing what has been promised to be the largest deportation operation in American history.
