--- title: Donald Trump Mexico: Border Data Shows 'Trump Effect' description: Apprehensions—which Border Protection uses to measure crossings—fell by 40% between January and February canonical: https://time.com/4696733/there-may-already-be-a-trump-effect-at-the-southern-border/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-09T17:17:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:19:55.787Z article:section: Politics og:title: There May Already Be a 'Trump Effect' at the Southern Border og:description: Apprehensions dropped by 40 percent. og:url: https://time.com/4696733/there-may-already-be-a-trump-effect-at-the-southern-border/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e904fc284e87c22/6988bdbd97cdff1cd06afc57/gettyimages-630993502.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Immigrants Surge Across Border Ahead Of Trump Inauguration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There May Already Be a 'Trump Effect' at the Southern Border twitter:description: Apprehensions dropped by 40 percent. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e904fc284e87c22/6988bdbd97cdff1cd06afc57/gettyimages-630993502.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There May Already Be a 'Trump Effect' at the Southern Border > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=2d9639e5-f587-4d76-970d-afc5a2bbafe5&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How Would a Border Wall Affect the Environment? [Watch (HLS stream): How Would a Border Wall Affect the Environment?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8QwmIoEW.m3u8) (1:33)  _Published 2017-02-27. President Donald Trump's plan to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico has been greeted with cheers from his supporters but conservationists say it poses a threat to the local environment and ecosystems._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 9, 2017 5:17 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 9, 2017 5:17 PM UTC New [data from the Department of Homeland Security ](https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration)shows President Trump’s recent executive actions on immigration may have led to fewer crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico. In January, over 31,000 people were apprehended at the southern border, U.S. [Customs and Border Protection](https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration) says, but by February apprehensions fell by 40% to 18,762 people. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement issued Wednesday that the data showed an “unprecedented decline in traffic,” during a period when CBP typically experiences a slight increase in apprehensions. “The drop in apprehensions shows a marked change in trends,” Kelly said in a statement. “Since the Administration’s implementation of Executive Orders to enforce immigration laws, apprehensions and inadmissible activity is trending toward the lowest monthly total in at least the last five years.” Before President Trump was inaugurated, Central American leaders warned that an influx of migrants were seeking to reach the United States before the new Administration took office. In an [interview with Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-centralamerica-idUSKBN13J2A7) in November, Honduras’ deputy foreign minister Maria Andrea Matamoros said coyotes, or smugglers, had been telling people they had to leave their country before the new President took office. Customs and Border Protection reportedly apprehended 157,000 people between Oct. 1 and Jan. 20, the day of the inauguration, a 35% bump from the year before. One of the President’s first acts in office was signing a [pair of executive orders ](http://time.com/4648516/donald-trump-immigration-executive-orders/)that significantly increased the enforcement capabilities of immigration and border patrol officers. The new data shows that beyond giving immigration enforcement more discretion during arrests and getting the “bad ones out,” the new policies may be stopping people from coming to the U.S. Secretary Kelly says that is a good thing. “This trend is encouraging because it means many fewer people are putting themselves and their families at risk of exploitation, assault and injury by human traffickers and the physical dangers of the treacherous journey north,” he said. It’s yet to be seen if the trend holds. Typically there is another bump in crossings from March until May. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] My name is Sergio Avila I am a conservation research scientist at the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum. There are different types of impacts to the environment if we think about barriers. If we block the movement, the natural movements of wildlife populations in any direction, we might be blocking those populations from moving to places where they can withstand the changing of the climate. There is also the longer term effect of blocking populations of plants and animals that eventually become separated genetically and, though this is very long term, creating a separation there is like a barrier to their reproduction. The infrastructure that is proposed along the border, is not only a while, we're talking about roads, patrols along those roads and helicopters and high- powered lights. And all of these different cases, destroy the habitat Other long term effects could be the destruction of so much habitat that then we lose complete populations of wildlife. This is a unique place for diversity of life in the world. If you don't see political lines Nature has no borders. Ultimately, the impacts to the environment are the most serious consequence of this infrastructure. 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