Southwest Border Apprehensions Continue Their Big Decline

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Monika Bauerlein,
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A few months ago I put up a chart showing the decline in Southwest border apprehensions during the first three months of the Trump administration. I was curious to see what it looked like after a few more months had passed. Here it is:¹

The downward trend in 2017 is unmistakable. But will it stick? The past decade is full of ups and downs. Border apprehensions dropped substantially from 2009-11, then dropped again in 2015, and now are down again in 2017. Roughly speaking, apprehensions dropped from about 70,000 per month to 30,000 per month under Obama, and have now dropped to 15,000 per month under Trump. That’s an 80 percent decline, and all without the benefit of a wall.

¹Data for FY 2000-16 here. Data for FY 2017 here. All lines in the chart are for calendar years.