Customs and Border Protection officials reported big shifts in immigration enforcement rates and changes in overall drug arrest rates in an update published earlier this week.
According to the agency’s April 2025 report, overall Border Patrol “apprehensions” along the Southwest region fell 93% compared to the same month last year, down from nearly 129,000 reports in April 2024 to just 8,383 reported incidents throughout last month.
CBP Acting Commissioner Pete Flores said he “credited” the decline in overall arrests to the agency’s newfound ability to control certain areas along the southern border.
“For the first time in years, more agents are back in the field – patrolling territories that CBP didn’t have the bandwidth or manpower to oversee just six months ago,” Flores said via the press release.
“But thanks to this administration’s dramatic shift in security posture at our border, we are now seeing operational control becoming a reality – and it’s only just beginning,” He added.
The agency also reported some big results from Operation Tidal Wave, as previously covered by The Dallas Express, a joint immigration enforcement strategy in Florida that led to 1,120 arrests in a single week.
On the drug enforcement front, CBP seized 758 pounds of fentanyl in April, part of a 15% month-over-month increase in total narcotics confiscated.
For perspective, that is the same amount of fentanyl to match the average weight of a large Grizzly bear.
Additionally, methamphetamine seizures alone increased by 30% – with The Dallas Express covering these large sets of drug seizures throughout 2025.
The CBP also reportedly blocked 140 shipments worth $3.65 million of imports allegedly connected to “suspected forced labor ties” and intercepted more than $500 million in recent counterfeit goods. Additionally, high-profile counterfeit watches and jewelry seizures have garnered viral attention from online consumers and the retail industry worldwide.
In another focus, the CBP also processed over 3 million “false trade entries” valued at nearly $284 billion and subsequently collected $18 million in tariffs and penalties, as officially recorded in their recent April 2025 report.