President Trump’s decisive action on the border is already delivering staggering results. Just weeks after reclaiming the White House, his administration has sent illegal border crossings into a freefall, with new U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks revealing a 90% drop in crossings since January 21—just one day after Trump’s inauguration.
Appearing on Fox & Friends Thursday, Banks, a seasoned border agent, credited the rapid turnaround to Trump’s strong leadership and his commitment to enforcing the law—something sorely lacking under the previous administration.
“U.S. Border Patrol knows how to get the job done. We know how to secure the border,” Banks declared. “All we needed was a president that was going to empower us—a strong leader like President Trump—and a secretary like Secretary Noem who understands exactly what we need.”
While Banks did not provide the exact number of illegal crossings, Texas officials confirmed the dramatic shift. On February 5, just 396 illegal migrants were encountered across multiple key crossing points—including El Paso, Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Del Rio, and Big Bend.
For comparison, under Biden’s disastrous open-border policies, Del Rio alone was seeing thousands of illegal crossings per day. That includes the infamous September 2021 debacle, when over 14,000 Haitian migrants flooded into Texas in a matter of days.
But the crackdown isn’t just about stopping illegal crossings—it’s about holding criminal migrants accountable. Banks revealed that prosecutions of illegal aliens have skyrocketed by 52%, ensuring that smugglers, cartel traffickers, and repeat offenders no longer get a free pass into the U.S.
The impact is being felt everywhere. The number of migrants in U.S. Customs and Border Patrol custody has dropped by over 500% since last summer—from more than 10,000 detainees in June to just 1,500 today.
Border Patrol agents on the ground are making it clear: Trump means business.
“No other president has ever enforced our nation’s borders like President Trump,” one Border Patrol agent told The New York Post.
Another agent confirmed that Trump’s immediate crackdown has smugglers scrambling to figure out new ways to exploit the system. “Catch and release is over.”
Trump’s border offensive doesn’t stop at the Rio Grande. His administration has already launched major deportation operations in lawless sanctuary cities like New York.
In just the first nine days of his crackdown, over 7,200 illegal migrants were arrested nationwide. Border Patrol agents report that deportation flights are sending a clear message to those who once saw Biden’s open-door policies as an invitation.
“It only takes a few deportation flights for people to realize they won’t be let go anymore,” one agent revealed. “They knew the law wasn’t being enforced. Now, they know this administration isn’t just talking. There are consequences.”
After nearly two years of Biden’s self-inflicted migrant crisis, New York City is finally seeing relief. Migrant arrivals into the city’s overwhelmed shelter system have dropped by two-thirds since the election.
Last week, just 200 new migrants entered the system, compared to 600 per week back in November. The overall number of migrants in taxpayer-funded NYC shelters has fallen by 12,000 since Trump’s victory, showing that the deterrent effect is working.
Of course, Democrats are already scrambling to demonize Trump’s success, pushing absurd narratives about Border Patrol “targeting grandmothers” rather than hardened criminals.
Banks shut that nonsense down immediately.
“We’re certainly not targeting abuelas,” he said Thursday. “We’re targeting criminals and those who have broken the law by entering this country illegally.”
The bottom line? America is back. Under President Trump, the law is finally being enforced, the border is being secured, and illegal immigration is being crushed.
