NewsNation’s Border Correspondent Ali Bradley and Senior National Correspondent Brian Entin give you an exclusive look at the border crisis in America and how the nation’s three borders — southern, northern and aerial — are kept safe. Watch the hour-long special, “Crisis At The Border: On The Frontlines.”
(NewsNation) — More than a month into President Donald Trump’s second term, the administration’s efforts to secure the southern border has yielded significant results, a variety of government and police officials say.
In an hour-long special report, NewsNation goes in-depth on the state of the situation at the border – what’s working, what’s not and why law enforcement on the frontlines say they aren’t letting their guard down.
Border apprehensions drop to 8.3K in February 2025: Officials
Border Patrol apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border have fallen dramatically to approximately 8,000 for the entire month of February, according to figures released — the lowest monthly total in recent years.
This represents a stark contrast from February 2020, when apprehensions reached 140,000, and marks a significant decline from peaks that saw nearly 12,000 daily crossings during previous surges.
The Pentagon announced plans to deploy additional U.S. troops to the border as enforcement efforts continue, despite the reduced numbers.
Border Patrol agents report they can now focus on their primary security mission rather than processing large numbers of migrants.
“This is what we signed up for. This is the oath that we took to protect the nation and secure the southern border,” one El Paso-based agent told NewsNation correspondent Ali Bradley. “We’re finally able to do that.”
Border security officials now face different challenges, including increased technological threats from cartels.
The current average of approximately 300 daily encounters across nine border sectors represents a manageable level, according to officials familiar with border operations. Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson previously stated that 1,000 crossings per day would be considered “catastrophic.”
‘Unprecedented’ cooperation between US, Mexico
Last week’s extradition from Mexico of 29 cartel members, including notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, suggests that nation and the U.S. are working together to crack down on organized crime along the border, Brian Townsend, a former DEA special agent and founder of Only 2MG, told NewsNation.
Quintero is accused of ordering the abduction, torture and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in Guadalajara in 1985.
“This is unprecedented,” Townsend said. “This cooperation, the negotiations, whatever’s happening in Mexico with our government, is wonderful news, and it’s good for all of us.”
The arrival of the drug suspects comes as the Trump administration has designated several cartels and gangs as terrorist organizations. Townsend said cartels have infiltrated most major American cities.
“They’re a threat everywhere,” he said. “They have woven into our communities. They work with other criminal networks to distribute drugs once they get across the border, into our neighborhoods, and kill Americans with them.”
Elite US border unit trains daily to pursue dangerous intruders
The U.S. Border Patrol is known for securing the nation’s border, but the agency includes an elite tactical unit that is less visible.
The Border Patrol Tactical Unit, or BORTAC, is comprised of highly trained agents with rapid response capabilities.
NewsNation received exclusive access to BORTAC’s training facilities in El Paso, Texas, where these men and women constantly train to apprehend the most dangerous individuals, including cartel operatives, who cross illegally into the United States.
How the Coast Guard intercepts migrants entering the Florida coast
As the Trump administration clamps down on migrant crossings, the U.S. Coast Guard has been working around the clock to secure America’s so-called “third border”: the ocean off the coast of Florida.
Coast Guard officers keep a close guard by flying over the coast south toward Cuba and over the Bahamas, which is a hotbed for migrant activity.
On these patrols, “mission system operators” utilize screens in the back of the plane to tell pilots in which direction to fly based on migrant sightings.
“We are looking for a number of different things. Vessels moving in a certain direction. If they are moving southbound, that may not be an indicator. If they are moving northbound, it might give us an indication we should probably take a look,” Coast Guard Lt. Bryce Monaco tells NewsNation.
“There are also a lot of people, 20 to 30, maybe even hundreds of people. These are all indicators of what we are looking at.”
Inside a high-stakes smuggling operation in Texas
Patrolling the United States’ southern border remains a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job.
That is especially true in areas along the border that are used by smugglers and immigrants who enter the United States illegally to hide from U.S. border agents and other immigration officials.
NewsNation was given the opportunity to ride along with troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety along the Rio Grande Valley. The area has seen an uptick in migrants entering the United States illegally and smugglers who are looking to cash in and move people and illegal drugs across the border into the United States.
Frontline authorities agree: Border is quieter
Deputy Danny Molinar of Kinney County, Texas, says things have noticeably slowed down in his jurisdiction.
“We’re just back to our normal days, just calls for service, stuff like that, interacting with the public. As far as the smuggling and the encounters with undocumented migrants, the numbers are completely down,” Molinar told NewsNation’s Ali Bradley.
In Cochise County, Arizona, Deputy Nate Bronstein said he has seen a similar slowdown in human smuggling activities. He noted, however, that undocumented immigrants are less cooperative with authorities now that they are facing probable deportation.
“They often flee, they often fight,” Bronstein said.
Paul Perez, president of the union that represents U.S. border agents, welcomes the news that border apprehensions have decreased. But he still is calling for 10,000 additional agents to keep things stable.
“We don’t want to lay down and allow everybody to come across like President Biden did,” Perez said.
