The Border Patrol made 98,708 arrests at the southwest border in fiscal 2026 — yaani fewer than 99,000 in the whole year, about 270 a day — the Department of Homeland Security said in a preliminary release dated October 16. The total, covering October 2025 through September 2026, is about 58% below fiscal 2025's 237,538 and is the fewest in a single year since the late 1960s, according to an Immigration Analytics review of the DHS release and Pew Research Center analysis of CBP data. DHS said it was the Border Patrol's first full fiscal year with zero releases into the country.

Source: Immigration Analytics review of the DHS Oct. 16 release and Pew Research Center CBP analysis

The fall is stark against recent years: southwest-border arrests topped 2.2 million in fiscal 2022 and 2.04 million in fiscal 2023, then fell to 1.53 million in fiscal 2024 and 237,538 in fiscal 2025, the review's table shows. Nationwide encounters — which add ports of entry and the northern border — totalled 379,243 in fiscal 2026, which DHS called the lowest in agency history and 88% below fiscal 2023. September was the 17th straight month with zero Border Patrol releases, DHS said in reporting carried by ZeroHedge/Yahoo.

Source: Immigration Analytics; DHS figures also reported by ZeroHedge

98,708Border Patrol southwest-border arrests in fiscal 2026 (preliminary, DHS)
379,243nationwide encounters in fiscal 2026 (DHS)
-58.4%change from fiscal 2025's 237,538 southwest arrests

The 'record' framing needs care, the review noted: nationwide encounters are a younger series dating to CBP's creation, while Border Patrol apprehensions go back decades — the 2026 figure is low but not the lowest ever, with the Washington Examiner reporting it as the lowest since 1967 on a nationwide basis. The totals count events, not people, so repeat crossers appear more than once, and they do not count anyone who crossed undetected. In practice, a year without releases means everyone apprehended is removed, returned or handed to ICE, the review said.

Source: Immigration Analytics review of the DHS release

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin credited enforcement: 'President Trump promised the American people a secure border, and the data proves he delivered,' he said in the release. Analyst Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America, in reporting carried by Yahoo, attributed the drop mainly to the disappearance of the right to apply for asylum at the border, noting the decline began late in the previous administration after tighter asylum rules and more Mexican enforcement, then accelerated under the current asylum limits and expanded arrests and deportations. DHS also put drug seizures at nearly 1 million pounds and said border deaths identified by the Border Patrol fell nearly 80% against the prior administration's years; the release links no datasets for those figures.

Source: DHS release via Immigration Analytics; analyst comment reported by Yahoo via ZeroHedge