13 Months of Zero Border Releases: CBP Ends 'Catch and Release' Through Draconian Enforcement
CBP reports 13 consecutive months of zero releases of illegal aliens at the southwest border, with May apprehensions below 10,000—the lowest in decades—attributable to Trump-era enforcement policies and the $70B Secure America Act.
The Trump administration is touting 13 straight months of zero 'illegal alien releases' at the U.S.-Mexico border, with CBP data showing May 2026 apprehensions at their lowest level in over 50 years. This statistic, while headline-grabbing, masks the draconian enforcement machinery behind it: the Secure America Act ($70 billion in ICE and CBP funding through FY2029, bypassing annual oversight) and policies like expedited removal, detention without due process, and militarized border operations. The administration's 'zero releases' claim means every single migrant encountered—whether seeking asylum or fleeing persecution—is either detained, expelled, or forced into a formal deportation proceeding, effectively ending any meaningful access to humanitarian protection. The broader harm is a nationwide detention industrial complex funded with no oversight, as the administration locks in mass deportation capacity through 2029. Meanwhile, the real drivers of border stabilization—economic improvements in sending countries, seasonal migration patterns, and increased Mexican enforcement—are ignored in favor of a narrative of total state control that violates core due-process and asylum norms.
The humanitarian alternative
Congress should condition any border enforcement funding on due-process guarantees, including a statutory right to counsel for migrants in expedited removal, caps on detention duration, and mandatory use of alternatives to detention (such as GPS ankle monitors or community-based case management) for non-criminal asylum seekers. The $70 billion Secure America Act should be rescinded and replaced with annual appropriations that tie enforcement spending to measurable compliance with international asylum obligations and reduced humanitarian harm. Redirect funds toward refugee resettlement programs, asylum adjudication backlogs, and partnerships with Mexico to address root causes of migration.
Falsifiable predictions
What this entry claims will happen, and what data would prove it wrong. The Reckoner revisits these against current reality.
- CBP will continue to report 'zero releases' through at least July 2026, but asylum claim denials and detention capacity will set new records.
- Immigration detention costs will exceed $6 billion annually by December 2026 due to zero-release enforcement model.
Grounded in
- Southwest Land Border Encounters | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Migrant encounters at US-Mexico border at lowest level in over 50 years | Pew Research Center
- CBP Enforcement Statistics | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- How many illegal crossings are attempted at the US-Mexico border ...
- Nationwide Encounters | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Trump Administration Delivers a Full Year of Zero Releases at the Border | Homeland Security
- Trump administration delivers 13 straight months of zero releases at ...
- Tenth straight month of zero illegal aliens released at the border | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Historic 9th straight month of zero releases at the border | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Original source — excerpted
news EXCLUSIVE: Trump Delivers 13 Straight Months of Zero Illegal Alien Releases at U.S.-Mexico Border"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics provided to Breitbart Texas show that total apprehensions at the southwest border in May were lower than the..."