--- 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: 2026-02-23T03:45:48.121Z 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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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### 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. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 9, 2017 5:17 PM UTC  A U.S. Border Patrol agent takes Central American immigrants into custody on January 4, 2017 near McAllen, Texas. Thousands of families and unaccompanied children, most from Central America, are crossing the border illegally to request asylum in the U.S. from violence and poverty in their home countries. The number of immigrants coming across has surged in advance of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration January 20\. He has pledged to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. John Moore—Getty Images A U.S. Border Patrol agent takes Central American immigrants into custody on January 4, 2017 near McAllen, Texas. Thousands of families and unaccompanied children, most from Central America, are crossing the border illegally to request asylum in the U.S. from violence and poverty in their home countries. The number of immigrants coming across has surged in advance of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration January 20\. He has pledged to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. John Moore—Getty Images John Moore—Getty Images 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. 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