WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security released its latest “Border Brief” factsheet, detailing how the Trump administration continued to succeed in securing the border in July. Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded record-low illegal immigration at the Southwest border, with only 4,601 U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) apprehensions—a 92% decrease compared to one year prior under the Biden-Harris administration. Additionally, in July 2025, nationwide encounters dropped over 85% compared to last year.

“With Southwest border apprehensions at a record low due to the reversal of the Biden-Harris administration’s open-borders policies, the days of human smugglers, gang members, known or suspected terrorists, and drug traffickers taking advantage of our borders and communities are over,”House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) said. “Keeping our streets safe and borders secure is a top priority for Homeland Republicans, and the wins we provided for our federal law enforcement in the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill Act’ will ensure we have a secure border and safe communities for years to come. Now, we must ensure that the money we gave the administration in this landmark bill is used for the purposes Congress intended, and we must work to codify President Trump’s other border-security policies into law.” 

“Our borders are more secure than ever, and the numbers continue to show it. The Trump administration’s strong enforcement of the law at our borders and in the interior has deterred otherwise inadmissible aliens from even attempting to make the dangerous journey to our borders in the hopes of being released into the U.S.––as they were under the Biden-Harris administration,”Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) said.“Now, with the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill Act’ signed into law, our Border Patrol agents, CBP officers, and ICE officers have the resources they need to keep our borders and communities secure, bolster their workforce and morale, and utilize cutting-edge technology in the field. July had the lowest monthly total of apprehensions at the Southwest border on record, and this is only the beginning of President Trump’s winning streak.”

On July 20, 2025, just 116 illegal aliens were apprehended by USBP attempting to cross our borders, the lowest single-day total in agency history. Last July, under Biden and Harris, USBP apprehended an average of over 1,800 illegal border crossers per day, and roughly 3,000 per day in July 2023. The Biden-Harris administration repeatedly said there was nothing they could do to stop the unprecedented border crisis their policies created, but this data proves the opposite. Strong enforcement of our nation’s laws is a deterrent for criminals, human smugglers, gangs, and cartels who for too long took advantage of our borders at the expense of Americans. Now, migration through the deadly Darien Gap, which flourished under the Biden-Harris administration’s open-borders policies and lined the pockets of criminals, has virtually ended.
 
The Trump administration is also working to locate the over 320,000 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) who were lost by the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Health and Human Services. From August 2023-January 2025, 65,000 phone calls from these children went unanswered. As of July 24, 2025, the Trump administration has located 13,061 UACs, and ICE has arrested 422 UAC sponsors for involvement in suspected child abuse or other crimes.
 
Key Facts:

• Last month, USBP paroled zero illegal aliens into the U.S., compared to the 12,365 paroled by the Biden-Harris administration in July 2024.
• Nationwide border encounters in July (24,628) decreased over 85%, and Southwest border encounters (7,382) dropped nearly 93% compared to July 2024.
• Border Patrol apprehensions between ports of entry at the Southwest border last month (4,601) decreased by nearly 92% compared to July 2024 (56,400).
• CBP encounters of inadmissible aliens at the Northern border dropped nearly 65% in July 2025 (6,296) compared to July 2024 (17,895).

###