The Department of Homeland Security says the United States has now recorded 16 consecutive months without U.S. Border Patrol releasing migrants apprehended at the border, marking a major change in how the federal government is handling illegal crossings.
DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the milestone on September 16, 2026, following the release of August border statistics.
According to the agencies, Border Patrol released zero migrants at the border in August, extending the streak to a 16th straight month.
The streak through August 2026 means the policy has remained in place for more than a year as the administration has emphasized detention and removal rather than releasing apprehended migrants into the country while their immigration cases continue.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin described the numbers as evidence of a fundamental shift in border enforcement.
“Sixteen straight months of zero releases at the border proves that President Trump’s policies are working,” Mullin said in the DHS announcement.
Mullin added, “Catch and release is over, consequences are back, and illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows.”
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott similarly characterized the current approach as one centered on enforcement after apprehension.
“Border security starts with knowing who and what is entering our country, and controlling it on behalf of the American people,” Scott said.
The zero-release statistic does not mean Border Patrol apprehended no migrants during the period.
In August 2026 alone, Border Patrol recorded 8,870 apprehensions along the southwest border, according to DHS.
That represented a 5 percent decline from July.
DHS said August’s southwest-border apprehension total was 94 percent lower than the monthly average recorded during Joe Biden’s administration.
The department also said the August figure was 97 percent below the December 2023 peak.
According to DHS, Border Patrol apprehended fewer migrants during the entire month of August 2026 than agents had apprehended during just five days in August 2024.
Nationwide Border Patrol apprehensions totaled 10,939 in August 2026, according to figures released alongside the announcement.
The release numbers provide another stark comparison.
DHS says Border Patrol released zero migrants along the southwest border in August 2026.
In August 2024, Border Patrol released 10,186 migrants along the southwest border, according to the department.
The comparison reflects a broader change in what happens after migrants are apprehended for illegally crossing the border.
Rather than routinely releasing apprehended migrants into the interior pending later immigration proceedings, the administration says its enforcement model relies on apprehension, detention and removal.
The precise outcome can still depend on an individual’s circumstances and the immigration procedures applicable to that case.
Migrants who raise asylum or other protection claims can face different legal proceedings depending on their eligibility and circumstances.
That distinction is important when interpreting the government’s “zero releases” claim.
The figure specifically concerns releases by Border Patrol at the border. It does not mean that every person encountered by federal immigration authorities is immediately deported, nor does it describe every legal pathway by which foreign nationals may enter or remain in the country.
DHS nevertheless views the streak as one of the clearest numerical measures of the administration’s break from previous border practices.
The agency said illegal border crossings and apprehensions have reached levels not seen in more than three decades.
The government is also pointing to the decline in encounters as evidence that fewer migrants are attempting to cross illegally when they expect detention and removal rather than release into the United States.
The September announcement comes as border enforcement remains one of the administration’s most prominent domestic-policy priorities.
DHS has repeatedly described the end of what it calls “catch and release” as central to that strategy.
The latest figures give the administration a measurable benchmark for that policy: 16 consecutive months in which Border Patrol says it released nobody apprehended at the border into the United States.
At the same time, the statistics should be read according to the agencies’ specific definition.
The claim is not that immigration into the United States has stopped, or that no migrants have entered through ports of entry, humanitarian programs or other lawful processes.
It is that U.S. Border Patrol says it has gone 16 straight months without releasing migrants apprehended at the border under the border-release practices that previously allowed some individuals to enter the interior while awaiting immigration proceedings.
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