Washington — Unlawful crossings at the U.S. southern border are down 94% from the same period last year, Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks told CBS News in his first sit-down interview, crediting the Trump administration’s government-wide crackdown on illegal immigration.
Over the past seven days, Banks said, Border Patrol agents have apprehended an average of 285 migrants per day along the entire southern border, compared to roughly 4,800 during the same time last year.
Banks attributed the dramatic drop in illegal immigration to a slew of executive actions taken by President Trump. They include an order that has effectively closed the U.S. asylum system and allowed for summary deportations, as well as the cancellation of Biden administration policies that allowed some migrants to enter the country with the government’s permission.
Formerly Texas’ border czar, Banks also cited the Trump administration’s deployment of additional troops to the southern border and a decision to deputize Texas National Guard soldiers as immigration officers, to help Border Patrol agents in the field.
Taken together, Banks said, the actions have virtually halted releases of migrants into the U.S. interior and sent a strong warning to those thinking about traveling to the American border that they will most likely be deported if they enter the country without permission.
“The greater the punishment, the larger the deterrent,” Banks said during an interview at Customs and Border Protection’s headquarters in Washington.
Since Mr. Trump took office, Bank added, only two migrants have been released from Border Patrol custody after crossing the southern border unlawfully. He said they were released to assist with criminal prosecutions as witnesses.
“I can tell you this: anyone that has crossed the border between the ports of entry since this administration has taken office has not been released,” Banks noted.
One of the Biden-era policies the Trump administration rescinded allowed prospective asylum-seekers in Mexico to use a phone app, known as CBP One, to request a time to enter the U.S. at a legal border entry point.
Asked if asylum is no longer an option for migrants at the U.S. southern border given the policy changes, Banks responded, “At the border, right, crossing in between the ports of entry, which is what the Border Patrol focuses on? No.”
“You do not cross the border illegally and then make an asylum claim,” he said. “You can go to the port of entry, or you can go to one of the embassies in your country and make your claim for asylum.”
While illegal crossings along the border with Mexico have dropped precipitously since Mr. Trump’s inauguration, they had been on a downward trend over the past year, since soaring to record highs in late 2023.
In fact, in December, the Biden administration’s last full month in office, Border Patrol recorded 47,000 migrant apprehensions, down 81% from December 2023, during a record-breaking surge in unlawful crossings, government figures show. That number dipped to just over 29,000 last month.
