How do the number of border patrol apprehensions under Biden compare to the first trump administration
Executive summary
The U.S. Border Patrol recorded far fewer apprehensions during President Trump’s first year in office than the Biden administration averaged, with DHS and CBP materials reporting monthly and daily encounter rates under Trump that are roughly an order of magnitude lower than Biden-era averages (for example, 90,084 southwest border USBP apprehensions in Trump’s first year vs. a Biden monthly average of about 155,485) [1]. Government statements quantify the fall in different ways — commonly 84–95 percent reductions — but independent reporting and fact-checking note those percentages often hinge on short windows and different metrics, so the headline declines should be read with caution [2] [3].
1. How the agencies frame the difference: dramatic declines
Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection messaging emphasizes record lows under President Trump, citing that in his first year USBP southwest border apprehensions totaled about 90,084 — less than the Biden administration’s average month of roughly 155,485 — and characterizing daily encounter averages as roughly 95% lower under Trump [1]. CBP releases for individual months report very low counts (for example, monthly southwest border apprehensions in the single digits of thousands and nationwide encounters in the tens of thousands), and CBP/White House messaging repeatedly contrasts those figures with peak Biden-era monthly totals to underline the scale of the drop [4] [5] [6].
2. The numbers behind the soundbites: averages, monthly totals, and percentages
Public-facing statistics used by DHS and congressional allies compare Trump-era monthly totals and daily averages to multi-year Biden-era monthly averages: DHS cites a Biden-era monthly average of about 155,485 southwest border encounters and says Trump’s first-year monthly and daily averages fell to under 10,000 apprehensions nationwide and roughly 230–258 southwest apprehensions per day in various months [1] [5] [6]. Congressional summaries put FY2025 southwest border USBP apprehensions at 237,538 — the lowest since 1970 — and describe year-over-year percentage declines such as an 84% drop in some monthly comparisons versus the prior Biden year [2].
3. What the independent press and analysts add: context and caveats
Independent outlets and fact-checkers warn that short-term comparisons and selected baselines can exaggerate the perceived change; PBS noted that claims of a 95% daily encounter drop leaned heavily on a brief time slice and that longer-term trends ebb and flow, so policy effects are not fully settled without a longer view [3]. Migration Policy Institute reporting reminds that aggregated encounters under Biden were large (millions of encounters and expulsions across multiple fiscal years) and that different policy tools — expulsions, parole programs, Title 42-era practices — complicate apples-to-apples comparisons of “encounters” or “apprehensions” between administrations [7].
4. Where the numbers don’t tell the whole story: metrics, definitions, and policy levers
The agencies’ comparisons mix metrics — encounters, apprehensions, releases, expulsions and parole terminations — and often highlight zero “releases” or parole releases under Trump as part of the explanation for fewer recorded encounters [4] [8]. Some sources stress that encounter counts can double-count repeat crossers or reflect processing practices; other expert reporting in the dataset cautions that court challenges, legal rulings, Mexican enforcement, and short-term policy changes can all shift volumes independent of a single administration’s deterrent effect [7] [3].
5. Bottom line and competing interpretations
The available government data and allied congressional materials show markedly fewer Border Patrol apprehensions in Trump’s first year compared with Biden-era monthly averages — with the administration and DHS framing reductions in the range of roughly 50% to 95% depending on the metric and timeframe cited [1] [9] [4]. Independent reporting and fact-checkers urge caution: the magnitude of the drop is real in the published monthly counts, but the causes and sustained nature of those declines require longer-term analysis and attention to differing definitions and parallel policies such as expulsions, parole rules, and enforcement changes [3] [7].