Migrant encounters at the U.S. southwest border rose about 25% in March from February, according to new data. This month-to-month increase, however, still means crossings are far below levels seen in recent years.
A new report from Customs & Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security showed that U.S. Border Patrol recorded 8,268 apprehensions along the southwest border in March, up from 6,603 in February.
DHS said the March total was 90% below the monthly average over the last 33 years and 97% below the Biden-era peak reached in December 2023. CBP's southwest border encounters page says its fiscal 2026 monthly reporting is current as of April 3, 2026.
In its announcement, the administration emphasized a different metric, saying March marked the 11th straight month with zero migrant releases into the U.S. interior by Border Patrol. That framing has become central to the White House's immigration messaging, which argues that tougher enforcement, narrower access to asylum, and a broader crackdown have changed migrant behavior at the border.
DHS had said on March 19 that total CBP encounters nationwide in February stood at 26,963, down 22% from January, while southwest border apprehensions fell to 6,603.
The March figure also remains largely below the levels recorded a year earlier. CBP reported in April 2025 that March 2025 apprehensions at the southwest border were around 7,180, then the lowest monthly total on record, and far below the monthly average of roughly 155,000 over the prior four years. That makes March 2026's 8,268 higher than the previous March, but still tiny compared with the sustained surges that defined much of 2021 through 2024.
