The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that border authorities have gone 12 consecutive months without releasing into the U.S. anyone who crossed the border illegally, according to a DHS news release cited in the source material.
The department framed the figure as a sharp break from Biden-era border policy and credited President Donald Trump’s approach for the change.
DHS Points to ‘Zero Releases’
“Twelve straight months of ZERO releases at the border. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we are delivering the most secure border in American history,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, according to the release.
“The days of catch and release are over. We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries,” Mullin added.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott also praised the reported milestone.
“What a difference, America!” Scott said in the release. “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.”
Scott added, “Every minute of every day, President Trump’s border security policies are making every American safer.”
April Apprehensions Fell to 8,943, DHS Says
According to the DHS release, 8,943 people were detained after crossing illegally in April. The department said that number was equivalent to about three days of crossings during the final year of the Biden administration.
DHS also said daily apprehensions are down 95 percent from the previous administration and that there have been 15 straight months with fewer than 9,000 people detained after illegally crossing into the country.
The release said the U.S. Border Patrol averaged 298 apprehensions per day along the southwest border in April, which DHS described as 94 percent lower than the daily average under the Biden administration.
DHS further compared that April average with December 2023, saying April’s daily apprehensions were lower than a single hour during that month’s peak, when the agency said apprehensions reached 336 per hour.
Drug Seizures Also Rose, According to DHS
The department also linked tougher enforcement to drug interdiction, reporting that nationwide seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana, measured by combined weight, increased 60 percent from April 2024.
According to the release, heroin seizures increased 73 percent compared with March 2026, methamphetamine seizures rose 63 percent, and CBP seized 463 pounds of fentanyl in April.
DHS said Border Patrol drug seizures for the fiscal year through April were 61 percent higher than during the same period in fiscal year 2024. CBP seizures overall were 53 percent higher than the average for the same period over the previous four years, according to the department.
Republicans Cite Biden-Era Contrast
The source material also referenced a May 2024 House Homeland Security Committee release that said there were 179,000 encounters along the southwest border in April 2024 and that border encounters were then on pace to reach 10 million for the federal fiscal year.
That committee release also said April 2024 encounters were up nearly 100 percent from April 2021.
The claims come as border policy remains one of the sharpest dividing lines between Trump and Biden administration records, with DHS presenting the latest numbers as evidence that the current enforcement posture has ended large-scale releases at the border.
