Border Encounters Lowest for Any October on Record: CBP

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported the lowest border encounters with unauthorized migrants nationwide when compared to any other October on record.

The Details: Homeland Security reported its sixth consecutive month without catching and releasing any unauthorized migrants apprehended at the US-Mexico border. The department recorded 30,561 encounters with unauthorized migrants nationwide in October, a historical low and 79% lower than the same month in 2024 under President Joe Biden. This represents the lowest start to a fiscal year ever recorded.

For Context: The drop in border encounters aligns with President Donald Trump's broader immigration policy, which involves mass deportations of individuals already in the US, restrictions on refugee admissions, and new controls to discourage fraud in legal immigration channels. However, some critics of the deportation efforts have argued that many of the migrants being deported are law-abiding people, and others with businesses depending on migrants have also complained.

How the Media Covered It: Both the Washington Times (Lean Right bias) and ABC News (Lean Left) reported on the record-low border encounters, but with varying emphasis. The Washington Times portrayed the low numbers as a result of President Trump's strict immigration policies, emphasizing the contrast with the Biden years and presenting the policy in a positive light. ABC News, while also noting the historic lows, did not extensively discuss the policies leading to these numbers, instead focusing on the statistics and the changing focus of Customs and Border Protection to interior enforcement.

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