Customs and Border Protection logged the lowest migrant border crossings in U.S. history in fiscal 2026, with a 95 percent drop from Biden-era levels and the first year of zero releases.

KVIA reported from El Paso that the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the results on Friday for fiscal year 2026.

Border Patrol recorded 98,708 southwest border apprehensions across the full year. That figure stands against more than 1.8 million apprehensions per year during former President Joe Biden's term.

CBP described the drop as 95 percent. Nationwide encounters fell to a preliminary 379,243, the lowest in the agency's history, compared with 2.7 million per year under Biden.

Fiscal 2026 also became the first year ever with zero Border Patrol releases. September marked the 17th straight month of that result.

Apprehensions crash far below Biden-year averages

The raw numbers leave little room for spin. Southwest border apprehensions sat under 100,000 for the entire fiscal year after years that routinely cleared 1.8 million.

CBP framed the nationwide encounter total the same way: 379,243 against the 2.7 million annual pace recorded under the prior administration. Those are the agency's own preliminary figures.

Enforcement pressure has widened beyond the line itself. DHS is now warning immigration attorneys who file false asylum claims that penalties are coming.

The same agencies that once processed record illegal immigrant traffic now report the opposite outcome. Focused enforcement replaced the open-door pattern that defined the Biden years.

Zero releases end the catch-and-release era for a full year

For the first time, Border Patrol finished a fiscal year with no releases into the interior. The streak reached 17 consecutive months by September.

That policy shift removes the incentive that once pulled repeated crossings. Illegal immigrants who once counted on quick release now face a closed door at the line.

Federal agents have carried the same seriousness into high-profile cases. Agents seized Ilhan Omar's cellphone during an immigration-fraud raid, showing the probe is moving forward.

CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott tied the results directly to the people doing the work.

"FY 2026 demonstrated what focused enforcement, strong partnerships, and the commitment of our frontline personnel can achieve,"

Scott's statement matches the data. Partnerships and personnel produced the lowest crossings on record, not another surge.

Migrant deaths fall nearly 80 percent

Preliminary data show migrant deaths identified by Border Patrol dropped nearly 80 percent this fiscal year compared with the previous administration.

Fewer crossings mean fewer people dying in the desert, rivers, and remote corridors. The same enforcement that cut apprehensions also cut the body count.

DHS leadership has kept public pressure on related fraud cases. Secretary Mullin confirmed a federal investigation into Ilhan Omar and raised the prospect of deportation.

Taxpayers spent years watching chaos at the southwest border. Fiscal 2026 finally delivered the opposite ledger: lower numbers, zero releases, and fewer deaths.

Republican pressure keeps matching the results

House leaders have refused to soft-pedal accountability on immigration fraud. Whip Emmer said Omar should face prison and deportation if citizenship fraud is proven.

The border numbers and the fraud probes sit in the same frame. When officials enforce the law instead of looking away, the crossings collapse and the games get exposed.

CBP and DHS put the fiscal 2026 record in plain view: 98,708 southwest apprehensions, 379,243 nationwide encounters, zero releases for a full year, and an almost 80 percent drop in identified migrant deaths.

Those figures arrived after years of million-plus annual traffic under Biden. The contrast is the story.

Enforcement works when it is actually tried. Fiscal 2026 just proved it in black and white.