{"id":7787,"date":"2026-02-02T13:55:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T18:55:15","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T18:55:18","slug":"migrant-encounters-at-the-us-mexico-border-are-at-their-lowest-level-in-more-than-50-years","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/02\/02\/migrant-encounters-at-the-us-mexico-border-are-at-their-lowest-level-in-more-than-50-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border are at their lowest level in more than 50 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico have fallen to their lowest level in more than 50 years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of statistics from the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Border Patrol recorded 237,538 encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2025 fiscal year, which began in October 2024 and ended in September 2025. That was down from more than 1.5 million encounters in fiscal 2024, more than 2 million in fiscal 2023 and a record of more than 2.2 million in fiscal 2022. The 2025 total was the lowest in any fiscal year since 1970, according to historical data from the Border Patrol<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About this research<\/strong><\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center analysis looks at how U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border have changed in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This research builds on our long-standing work on migration trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a> and our work on immigration and migration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This analysis relies on statistics published on a regular basis<\/a> by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency that encompasses the Border Patrol.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

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In 2025, encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border fell to their lowest level since 1970<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Migrant encounters by U.S. Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border, by fiscal year<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Note: Beginning in fiscal 2020, totals combine apprehensions and expulsions into a new category known as encounters. Totals before March 2020 include apprehensions only. Some migrants are encountered more than once.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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