Trump’s DHS Extends Stunning Zero Release Border Streak to 16 Months

President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday marked 16 consecutive months with zero releases at the border between the U.S. and Mexico, extending what officials described as an unprecedented enforcement record, as reported by Fox News.

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the milestone in a statement to Fox News Digital.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the streak demonstrates that Trump’s border policies “are working.”

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“Catch and release is over, consequences are back, and illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows. President Trump made a promise to the American people that he would make America safe again, and he has done just that by giving us the most secure border in American history,” Mullin said.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott also pointed to detention and removal as central parts of the administration’s approach.

He said border security requires federal authorities to know who and what is entering the country.

“Border security starts with knowing who and what is entering our country – and controlling it on behalf of the American people,” Scott said.

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“That means people who cross illegally are apprehended, detained and removed – not released into the United States. Our agents are enforcing that standard every day.”

Department of Homeland Security officials said border crossings have fallen to record lows during Trump’s second term.

The August enforcement figures offered another sharp contrast with the numbers recorded under former President Joe Biden.

U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 8,870 people along the Southwest border during August.

That total was 5% lower than the number recorded in July, according to the figures provided in the report.

August apprehensions were also 94% lower than the average monthly figure under Biden.

The Department of Homeland Security said it recorded zero parole releases in August, compared with more than 10,000 releases by Border Patrol in August 2024 under the former president.

Drug enforcement numbers at the border also remained strong.

Fiscal year drug seizures were up 73% compared with the same fiscal period under Biden in 2024 and were 61% higher than the average recorded during the past four years.

The increase in seizures came largely from cocaine and precursor chemicals.

Cocaine seizures rose 28% in August to 6,724 pounds, while CBP and ICE seized more than 120,000 pounds of precursor chemicals during the same month.

The August figures arrived as the Trump administration began construction on a section of border wall in Arizona.

The project moved forward despite objections from the Tohono O’odham Nation, which challenged the administration’s plans in court.

The wall is part of a $46 billion effort focused on strengthening the southern border.

The project includes steel bollard walls measuring 30 feet, vehicle barriers, and technology intended to stop illegal immigration and smuggling.

The Tohono O’odham Nation sued the administration earlier in the year, arguing that construction would damage land sacred to the tribe.

A federal judge rejected that argument and sided with the federal government.

The judge noted that the border wall would be built within the Roosevelt Reservation, a buffer zone of federally owned land measuring 60 feet across.

The ruling addressed the government’s stated construction plans within that designated area.

“Defendants have not yet articulated plans to construct outside the Roosevelt Reservation,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., wrote in his opinion.

The administration’s August numbers combined zero parole releases with fewer apprehensions and substantially larger drug seizures compared with previous periods cited by officials.

Meanwhile, wall construction continued in southern Arizona as Trump’s broader border policy remained focused on apprehension, detention, and removal.

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