It appears that ex-President Joe Biden’s era of open-border policies has finally come to a close. In a recent announcement, current President Donald Trump revealed that arrests at the US-Mexico border had dipped to a record low of 8,300 in February, signifying the end of an ‘invasion.’ Despite this positive change signifying stronger border control, the official data has not yet been released offering stark contrast to the laxity in the Biden administration.
During Biden’s reign, illegal crossings at the apex of this crisis reportedly surged to around 300,000 in December 2023, clearly exemplifying his administration’s lackadaisical response to illegal immigration. A contrast to this approach, Trump’s administration has swiftly swung the pendulum towards more strenuous border control efforts.
As part of the whirlwind changes following his inauguration on January 20, President Trump set his pen to a series of executive orders designed to curtail illegal entry, thereby putting an abrupt halt to the flawed policies set by the prior administration. This was a welcome change as Trump, unlike Biden, took swift and decisive action against the problem.
Preliminary records suggest that the February 2025 arrest figure of 8,326 could be the lowest since the initiation of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) records in 2000. This starkly contrasts with the astronomical figure of 140,641 arrests in February 2024, once again pointing towards the grave laxity in border control under the Biden regime.
The last time February arrests dropped below 20,000 occurred in 2017, shortly after Trump’s first entrance to the Oval Office. By May of that year, arrests plunged to a low of 11,127. In contrast, Biden’s administration saw a steady rise in illegal border crossings and showed a lack of effective action.
Interestingly, a decreasing trend in border crossings was spotted from December 2023 onwards. However, making light of an otherwise critical performance parameter, Biden oddly decided to institute a nearly complete prohibition on asylum requests, in June 2024.
The final month under Biden’s watch saw 47,316 illegal border crossings. Shockingly, this number reduced by around 18,000 in January. This substantial drop in the first month following Biden reiterates the urgent need and effectiveness of revamped immigration policies.
Efficient border control is central to Trump’s promises. However, deportation figures are still slightly vague since his inauguration. Although DHS recorded around 5,700 deportations in the first two weeks, updates have been few and far between, reflecting the bureaucratic inefficiency that was rampant under Biden’s administration.
President Trump’s executive orders aimed not only to dismantle the inappropriate asylum entries of the past but to fortify the border with increased military assistance, effectively deterring immigrants from venturing northwards towards the US. This once again displays Trump administration’s strong stand in comparison to Biden’s passive approach.
Trump’s impatience with the progress of his immigration reforms is palpable, as evident by the recent reassignment of his initial acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Caleb Vitello. This differs greatly from Biden’s administration, which demonstrated inertia when it came to immigration control measures.
As part of these administrative changes, there has been an increase in military personnel at the border. The DHS has also commandeered more agents from throughout the federal system to bolster the successful raid campaigns across the country — a program that Biden and Harris were sheepishly dismissive of.
Although Trump’s 2017 policies initially led to a reduction in border crossings, illegal entries began to creep up, underscoring the relentless challenges this issue continues to pose. It’s yet to be seen whether the new aggressive 2025 policies will have a more lasting effect than the toothless gestures made by Biden and Harris.
Reflecting on the past year, it’s clear that the shift from Biden’s administration to Trump’s offers a stark contrast in immigration policy. Where Biden’s stance was neglectful and ineffective, Trump’s approach is strong and decisive. While results are still emerging, it’s clear that the Biden era of porous borders is hopefully behind us.