Republicans celebrate decline in border arrests under Trump: ‘Ecstatic’

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March recorded the lowest number of illegal immigrant arrests at the southern border in nearly six decades, a point that Republicans proudly attributed to the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

The number of immigrants arrested while attempting to illegally enter the United States last month stood at roughly 7,200 compared to 137,000 in March 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) was thrilled about the results that the Trump administration had brought about within 100 days of taking office.

“I’m ecstatic. We finally secured our southern border,” Green told Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday. “President Trump did what he promised during the campaign.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, noted how significant a drop in arrests CBP has seen year over year.

“The southern border is getting back under control. March hit a record low for illegal crossings — just 7,181. That’s a 95% drop from last year,” Cassidy said. “This is exactly what Americans asked for.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) pointed to the difference in how illegal immigrants crossing the southern border were handled under the Biden administration versus the Trump administration.

“Under Border Czar Kamala Harris, illegal aliens were able to stroll through the southern border and were welcomed with buses. Under President @realdonaldtrump, the border is CLOSED, with border crossings down 94% from last March,” said Emmer.

Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), whose district is on the Texas-Mexico border, cheered on the achievement.

“March recorded the lowest southwest border crossings in history – averaging just 230 per day,” De La Cruz wrote in a post to X. “This is the result of President Trump enforcing immigration law, repealing Biden’s disastrous open border policies, and allowing Border Patrol Agents to do their job. In less than three months of this Administration, our border is secure, and our nation is protected.”

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) applauded Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for her leadership over the past two months, adding that Trump “made no mistake” in hiring her.

“1 year ago, a border with American operational control seemed nearly impossible with the way cartels were utilizing Biden’s open door policies to their advantage,” Stutzman said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “March’s numbers, and the work done on the border, might as well be the new operation warp speed with how quickly the administration was able to get the job done.”

However, immigration analysts called the government’s portrayal of the March statistics as the lowest in history a mischaracterization.

The Washington Office on Latin America’s Defense Oversight program director, Adam Isacson, said monthly data is only available going back to 2000, so it is not accurate to say March was the lowest month of all time.

“7,180 Border Patrol apprehensions in March is very few. The fewest since 2000, when USBP started reporting monthly data,” Isacson wrote in a post to X Wednesday. “But monthly averages show that it’s not ‘lowest in history.’ There were fewer migrants in the 50s-60s and before WW II.”

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council in Washington, called CBP’s comments on the March statistics an “outright lie” and pointed to previous annual totals that suggest the average monthly arrests may have been lower in 1967.

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