The number of immigrants apprehended by Customs and Border Protection for attempting to enter the U.S. illegally reportedly declined by more than 2 million during President Donald Trump's first full fiscal year in office, compared to the same period under the Biden administration.

The numbers were reported Tuesday by the Washington Examiner, which says they were part of a "leaked government data set" that the newspaper obtained "exclusively" and that will be publicly released in the coming weeks.

The data reportedly shows that Border Patrol agents assigned to the U.S.-Mexico border arrested 98,701 illegal immigrants in fiscal 2026. That figure would be the lowest in at least 59 years, and 95% lower than the 2.2 million arrests they made at the border in fiscal 2022, former President Joe Biden's first full year in office. 

In fiscal 2022, according to the data, Border Patrol encountered and took into custody an average of 183,000 illegal immigrants every month, considerably higher than the total over the past 12 months.  

The drop in arrests follows a change in federal border and immigration policy from the Biden administration to the Trump administration, which has tightened border security and made clear that illegal migration is not welcome in the U.S. and that illegal migrants will be deported.