Trump Administration Hits One Year of Zero Releases at Southern Border

The Trump administration reached a full year of "zero releases" at the southern border on Friday, a milestone officials cited as proof that President Trump has ended the catch-and-release practices of the Biden era.

"Zero releases" means U.S. Border Patrol does not release illegal border crossers into the U.S. interior after apprehending them. The policy does not imply zero illegal crossings or zero apprehensions.

In a news release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the drop in releases and highlighted enforcement statistics. The agency said illegal crossings and apprehensions have fallen to levels not seen in more than three decades. Border Patrol recorded 8,943 southwestern border apprehensions in April, 94 percent lower than the Biden administration’s monthly average and 96 percent below the December 2023 peak under Biden. That figure was fewer than the number apprehended in just three days of April 2024.

"The days of catch and release are over," Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. "We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries."

CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott added, "What a difference. The U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into our country again this month, unlike April 2024 when more than 68,000 were released under President Biden. Every minute of every day President Trump’s border security policies are making every American safer."

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told Fox News Digital that the administration’s "zero releases" claim from Border Patrol custody appears true. He noted, however, that the figure excludes migrants transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and later released on bond, parole, medical or humanitarian grounds, or after winning their cases.

"The specific claim of catch and release is in reference to the practice involving Border Patrol releasing migrants directly from Border Patrol custody," Reichlin-Melnick clarified to Fox News Digital. "Some people are still crossing the border, and then eventually being released. It’s just that they’re not being released directly from the Border Patrol."

DHS reported an April daily average of 298 apprehensions, lower than a single hour during the Biden-era surge peak, when Border Patrol averaged 336 apprehensions per hour in December 2023. Total encounters this fiscal year stand at 215,876, 13 percent lower than the total in April 2024 alone.

CBP also pointed to drug and trade enforcement gains. Nationwide seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana by weight rose 60 percent from April 2024. The agency seized 463 pounds of fentanyl that month and 61 percent more drugs so far this fiscal year than in the same period of fiscal year 2024.

Reichlin-Melnick acknowledged that Trump’s immigration policies have cut apprehensions significantly and that tougher tactics against migrants have produced results. He argued, though, that the approach has gone too far by blocking asylum access at the southern border.

"The Trump administration has sent the message to the world that the United States is no longer a place where people can seek safety," he said. Reichlin-Melnick agreed the asylum system needs reform, including more asylum officers, more immigration judges and changes to screening standards. But he said the goal should not be to end access entirely.

"I think most Americans believe we should be a place where people can find safety," he said, referencing Ronald Reagan’s vision of America as a "shining city on a hill." "I don’t think the answer was to shut it off completely."

DHS officials maintain the sharp decline in crossings proves the policies work after years of record illegal immigration under Biden.