Border Patrol Reports Zero Direct Releases of Migrants in April as Apprehensions Continue to Fall

The Trump administration marked one full year of zero releases at the southern border on Friday, according to the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Interior after apprehension, Fox News reported. CBP recorded 8,943 southwestern border apprehensions in April.

Those figures were 94% lower than the Biden administration’s monthly average, 96% below the December 2023 peak and fewer than the number apprehended in just three days in April 2024.

The April daily average of apprehensions stood at 298, according to DHS. That figure was lower than a single hour during the height of the Biden-era surge, when Border Patrol averaged 336 apprehensions per hour in December 2023. Total encounters so far this fiscal year reached 215,876.

Those encounters are 13% lower than the total recorded in April 2024 alone. Nationwide seizures by weight of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana increased 60% from April 2024. CBP seized 463 pounds of fentanyl in April and has seized 61% more drugs so far this fiscal year than during the same period in FY 2024.

Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks announced his immediate resignation. He stated he is leaving after bringing the border to its most secure state under the Trump administration. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the days of catch and release are over.

Mullin added that officials are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries. CBP Commissioner Rodney S. U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the country in April.

Scott noted that more than 68,000 were released in April 2024 under President Biden. "What a difference," Scott said.

U.S. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told Fox News Digital that the administration’s claim of zero releases from Border Patrol custody does appear true. Reichlin-Melnick noted that the zero releases figure does not capture migrants transferred to ICE custody and later released on bond, parole, medical or humanitarian grounds, or after winning their cases.

Reichlin-Melnick clarified that the specific claim of catch and release refers to Border Patrol releasing migrants directly from Border Patrol custody.

He said some people are still crossing the border and then eventually being released, but not directly from Border Patrol. Reichlin-Melnick said apprehensions are down significantly. He added that the hardened tactics against migrants has produced results and that the Trump administration has effectively shut off access to asylum at the southern border.

Reichlin-Melnick said the asylum system had long needed major reform including more asylum officers, more immigration judges and changes to screening standards. He argued the goal should not be to end access to the system altogether. "The Trump administration has sent the message to the world that the United States is no longer a place where people can seek safety," Reichlin-Melnick said.

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Joe Biden but did not receive a response in time for publication.