EXCLUSIVE — Border Patrol’s South Florida region for the first time rivals regions across southern border states, such as Texas, Arizona, or California, for the most illegal immigrant arrests.
As illegal immigrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border have slowed to historic lows under President Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security has focused its enforcement efforts inside the country, Border Patrol’s Miami Sector is among the organization’s top 20 regions for illegal immigrant encounters.
Between March 2025 and April 2026, Border Patrol agents apprehended 125,199 foreigners across the Mexican, Canadian, and coastal borders.
Ten percent — or 12,599 — of all arrests occurred in the Miami region, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
Although the majority of arrests made by Border Patrol agents on the U.S.-Mexico border are people who attempt to enter the country illegally, those being arrested in South Florida are largely individuals turned over to Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from local and state police.
In the past, Florida state troopers who pulled over a vehicle with illegal immigrants inside could not bring those individuals to federal agents.
Early last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) directed state troopers with Florida Highway Patrol, city police, and county sheriff’s departments to assist federal immigration authorities by making jail space available for short-term detention when needed, as well as turning over and transporting illegal immigrants encountered during traffic stops.
The move created a pipeline of people entering Border Patrol custody, leading the Miami Border Patrol’s apprehension figures to surge.
Illegal immigrants are processed and temporarily held by Border Patrol before being placed in longer-term detention as they await deportation proceedings. The state also offers those in federal custody the option to self-deport with a free one-way ticket to their home country.
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Madison Kessler told the Washington Examiner that the Florida Highway Patrol “has arrested more than 10,690 illegal aliens, including more than 2,140 with criminal history,” since March 2025.
It means that the large majority of the 12,599 illegal immigrants apprehended by Border Patrol in South Florida over that 14-month period were the result of cooperation between federal, state, and local police under the Immigration and Nationality Act’s 287(g) agreement.
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Additional data shared by the state revealed that the Florida Highway Patrol, county sheriff’s departments, and city police have encountered a total of 26,200 illegal immigrants between Aug. 1, 2025, and June 10.
Of those encounters, 21,240 were arrested. Those not turned over to immigration authorities may face state criminal charges for offenses.