John Fetterman Celebrates News Of Lower Border Crossings: 'I'm a Democrat That Votes For a Secured Border'

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman celebrated news of reduced border crossings during the Trump administration, which highlighted that Border Patrol agents didn't release any migrants into the U.S. for 10 months straight.

"Sorry, I'm a Democrat that votes for a secured border over a wide-open one," Fetterman said in a social media publication.

He was making reference to a Fox News article referencing information from the Department of Homeland Security. "We have the most secure border in American history. Our borders are CLOSED to lawbreakers," said former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a statement.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott added that the fact that no migrants have been released into the U.S. during that period, "a clear reflection of the enforcement-first posture restoring integrity to our nation's borders."

Agency data showed that the agency recorded almost 27,000 encounters in February, 22% fewer than January and 88% below the monthly average during the Joe Biden administration.

Officials also noted that there has been an average of 236 apprehensions per day at the southern border in February, a 95% drop compared to the previous administration.

The amount of encounters continue a trend during the Trump administration. Border Patrol encounters with migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico fell to their lowest level in more than 50 years in fiscal year 2025.

Concretely, Border Patrol recorded 237,538 encounters during the 2025 fiscal year, which ran from October 2024 through September 2025. That compares with more than 1.5 million encounters in fiscal 2024, over 2 million in fiscal 2023 and a peak of more than 2.2 million in fiscal 2022.

Researchers from the Pew Research Center said the 2025 figure was the lowest annual total since 1970. The agency noted that "encounters" refer to events rather than individuals and can include repeat crossings.

The decline follows a series of policy changes in both the United States and Mexico. In April 2024, then-President Joe Biden and then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced an agreement to intensify enforcement, with Mexican authorities increasing efforts to curb northbound migration. The Biden administration later imposed additional asylum restrictions in June and September 2024.

After returning to office in January 2025, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southwestern border, directed the U.S. military to assist with border security and shut down a Biden-era mobile application that had allowed migrants to seek asylum appointments. The administration has also increased arrests and deportations from the U.S. interior, a move officials say is intended to deter new arrivals.