(The Center Square) – In the first 10 days of the Trump administration, apprehensions dropped by 85% between ports of entry at the southwest border, according to new data published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

From Jan. 21 through Jan. 31, 2025, the number of U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions along the southwest border dropped by 85% compared to the same period in 2024.

The number of inadmissible illegal border crossers using a CBP One phone app arriving at ports of entry at the southwest border dropped 93% in 11 days compared to the same time period one year prior.

Apprehensions at the northern border, which reported record numbers every month during the Biden administration, also reported a drop of nearly two-thirds in Trump’s first month in office.

Overall, the total number of illegal border crossers dropped nationwide across the board.

Nationwide, 81,792 illegal border crossers were reported in January, compared to 242,530 in January 2024; 209,151 in January 2023, and 186,808 in January 2022.

The majority were reported at the southwest border as they are every year. This January, 61,465 were reported compared to 176,195 in January 2024, 157,358 in January 2023, and 154,874 in January 2022.

At the northern border, 5,144 were reported in January, down from 15,360 just three months prior in October 2024.

By comparison, 15,916 were reported in January 2024, 13,126 in January 2023 and 7,397 in January 2022, according to the data.

The data includes apprehensions by Border Patrol agents between ports of entry and encounters by CBP agents at ports of entry.

The apprehensions dropped after President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders and implemented border security policies on his first day in office.

They include declaring a national emergency at the southwest and northern borders; declaring the U.S. was being invaded; designating cartels and violent criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations; reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy; surging U.S. Coast Guard resources nationwide; directing the Department of Defense to implement border security measures; deploying 1,500 U.S. troops to the southwest border; implementing mass deportation policies, including detaining the most violent illegal border crossers at a U.S. Naval facility in Guantanamo Bay; directing that capital punishment be pursued in federal prosecution of violent crimes committed by illegal foreign nationals; and ended multiple Biden administration parole programs that facilitated the illegal entry of more than 14 million people from over 160 countries, including more than two million gotaways, The Center Square exclusively reported.

Soon after Trump directed the U.S. military to expand border security operations, active patrols along all U.S. international borders increased.

“DOD is a critical partner in securing our international borders and making America safe again. The message is clear: do not make the journey, or you will be detained and removed,” CBP says.

CBP and DOD are “aggressively implementing the President’s Executive Orders to secure our borders. These actions have already resulted in dramatic improvements in border security,” Acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores said. “The reduction in illegal aliens attempting to make entry into the U.S., compounded by a significant increase in repatriations, means that more officers and agents are now able to conduct the enforcement duties that make our border more secure and our country safer.”

CBP also notes that illegal border crossings dramatically decreased after Trump terminated the Biden administration policy of catch and release and began detention and removal.

“CBP is leveraging legal authorities to take every reasonable step to ensure illegal aliens are placed in detention and expediently removed from the country. In simple terms, illegal aliens are being arrested, detained and then rapidly removed,” it says.

It also points to the immediate termination of Biden administration CBP One phone app and CHNV parole programs that facilitated the illegal entry of several million people, The Center Square reported.

“On Jan. 20, CBP ended use of the CBP One app to schedule appointments for inadmissible aliens. CBP also terminated all categorical parole programs and returned to a case-by-case review based on criteria established in law,” CBP said.

In January, CBP agents continued to seize a record amount of fentanyl. In fiscal years 2023 and 2024, CBP agents seized nearly 50,000 pounds of fentanyl nationwide. That’s enough to kill two billion people, with 2 milligrams considered a lethal dose. In January 2025, CBP agents seized 1,029 pounds of fentanyl; methamphetamine seizures increased by 15%.