Despite Uptick in September, FY25 Border Arrests Were the Lowest in Generations
Total illegal entries near levels not seen since the 1940s
By Andrew R. Arthur on October 28, 2025
The congressional budget shutdown delayed CBP’s release of its nationwide “encounters” figures for September, but they finally appeared on Friday. The bad news is that Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal migrants at the Southwest border ticked up in September. The good news is that FY 2025 ended with the lowest yearly total for apprehensions in the past 55 years – and likely the lowest total number of illegal entries since the 1940s.
Border Patrol Apprehensions
Nationwide in September, Border Patrol agents apprehended just over 10,200 illegal migrants, the majority (82.2 percent or 8,386) of those apprehensions occurring at the Southwest border.
That’s a 26-percent month-over-month rise nationwide compared to August (8,085 apprehensions) and a 32.8 percent increase at the U.S.-Mexico line.
That’s a problem because, aside from during the Biden administration (when migrant trends were unpredictable), apprehensions historically decline between August and September.
Don’t get too concerned yet, however, because apprehensions are coming off a historic nadir set in the first few months of the Trump II administration. The 4,592 Southwest border apprehensions in July were the lowest monthly total in recorded history (records go back to October 1999).
https://cis.org/Arthur/Despite-Uptick-September-FY25-Border-Arrests-Were-Lowest-Generations
