Border Patrol made 98,708 apprehensions on the southwest border in fiscal 2026 (October 2025 through September 2026), the lowest annual total since 1968 and 95% below the Biden-era average, according to preliminary figures the Department of Homeland Security released Oct. 16. ICE held 65,765 people in detention as of July 11 and had posted 356,389 removals for the fiscal year by late July. The numbers, with their dates and sources, are below.
Last updated Nov. 1, 2026. Border figures are DHS and CBP preliminary data; detention and removal figures are ICE data as compiled by ICE and by TRAC at Syracuse University. CBP had not posted its September monthly table as of this update.
At a glance
- Southwest border apprehensions, fiscal 2026: 98,708 by Border Patrol (preliminary). The last lower year was fiscal 1968, at 96,641.
- Nationwide encounters, fiscal 2026: 379,243 across all of CBP (preliminary), 88% below fiscal 2023, the highest year on record.
- Releases: Border Patrol reported zero releases into the country for 17 straight months through September 2026, the first full fiscal year with none.
- Recent months, Border Patrol southwest apprehensions: December 2025, 6,478; March 2026, 8,268; August 2026, 8,870 (down 5% from July).
- ICE detention: 65,765 people on July 11, 2026. TRAC’s count of ICE’s own data puts 70.6% of them without a criminal conviction; ICE says about 60% have a criminal record.
- Removals: ICE posted 356,389 removals for fiscal 2026 through late July. The full-year record is 438,421, set in fiscal 2013. The Migration Policy Institute estimates about 980,000 deportations of all kinds, including returns at the border, from Jan. 20, 2025, through July 31, 2026.
Southwest border by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Border Patrol apprehensions, southwest border | Southwest border encounters, all CBP |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | — | 2,135,005 |
| 2025 | 237,538 | 443,671 |
| 2026 | 98,708 (preliminary) | Not yet published |
Encounters count every person CBP stops at and between ports of entry, including those turned away; apprehensions count only Border Patrol arrests between ports. The fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
When the numbers come out
CBP posts the previous month’s encounters around the middle of each month on its Southwest Land Border Encounters page. ICE updates its detention statistics roughly every two weeks and its removal totals on its statistics page. DHS has not yet published a final fiscal 2026 removals figure; this page will carry it when it appears. Court rulings on detention and deportation cases run in the stories below and on Rules for Thee.
Sources: DHS, Oct. 16, 2026, release on fiscal 2026 border crossings; CBP, Southwest Land Border Encounters; House Homeland Security Committee, September 2025 border brief (fiscal 2024 and 2025 totals); TRAC, Immigration Detention Quick Facts; ICE statistics; Migration Policy Institute, deportations in the second Trump term.
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