WASHINGTON — Border crossings continued to plummet during the opening weeks of the second Trump administration in a trend that started after former President Joe Biden signed a restrictive executive order limiting asylum claims and an acceleration in enforcement actions since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Arrests for illegal crossings fell sharply in January compared to December with 21,593 arrests, a 39% decline from Biden’s last full month in office. It was the lowest number of arrests since May 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic shut down the world.

Encounters also steeply declined last month along the southwestern border, the busiest section for crossings, according to data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday.

“Call it the Trump effect,” the White House said in a statement about the figures.

Trump signed a flurry of executive orders further cracking down on immigration into the U.S., suspending asylum opportunities, more strictly enforcing deportations, declaring a national emergency at the southern border and attempting to revoke birthright citizenship. The administration has also been working with countries to strike deals on accepting deportation flights to receive their citizens back and trying to convince others to at least temporarily take in migrants from third countries.

The figures are a stark reversal from the period before Biden signed the executive order targeting asylum when crossings soared to record levels, reaching as high as 250,000 in one month. Encounters started falling about a year ago after the administration reached a deal with Mexico to increase arrests of people heading to the border and asylum restrictions went into place.

Biden’s executive order placed restrictions on asylum that were essentially impossible to lift. Migrants were barred from seeking asylum if they entered the country illegally or when border officials determined it was being overwhelmed, which was reached when encounters at entry points hit 2,500 per day.

Arrests quickly fell after Biden signed the executive order, falling from more than 83,000 in June of 2024 down to 47,000 in December.

Trump has further escalated the limitations being placed on asylum claims, shutting down the CBP One app that allowed migrants to make appointments at crossings to ask for the status. The administration has also moved to completely ignore asylum claims in another effort to deter people from even coming to the border, one of many immigration moves that is being challenged in the nation’s courts.

The administration also announced a major ad campaign that will air in the U.S. and abroad encouraging people in the country illegally to leave on their own and warning migrants elsewhere not to come to the U.S. at all.

“If you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return. But if you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says in the video. “If you are a criminal alien considering entering America illegally: Don’t even think about it. If you come here and break our laws, we will hunt you down. Criminals are not welcome in the United States.”

Immigration slowdowns are not uncommon when a new administration takes office as migrants are more likely to wait to see what policy changes are being made. But Trump is hoping to make it a permanent change with the executive actions and more funding from Congress to continue to ramp up the crackdown.

The White House has been pushing Congress to approve tens of billions in new funding for immigration enforcement in the early days of Trump’s second presidency and have highlighted the limitations existing resources place on the initiative. The administration has reassigned federal law enforcement officers from other departments to focus on immigration and deployed thousands of troops to the border as well.

Republicans, who have slim majorities in the House and Senate, are trying to figure out the best path forward to unlock the funding for Trump. Senators are pushing a two-step approach that would deliver funding for immigration enforcement and defense spending followed by tax cuts in separate legislation, while House leadership wants to do it in one bill.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, has framed the Senate approach as a backup plan if the House is unable to secure the votes to produce one bill. Trump initially suggested it did not matter what route lawmakers took as long as the bills were passed but shifted toward favoring the House’s push to pass it all in one shot in a post on his social media website on Wednesday.

“The House and Senate are doing a SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable, TEAM, however, unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!” Trump wrote in his post.

Under the House plan, Republicans would cut some $4.5 trillion in taxes and direct congressional committees to cut spending by at least $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years in reductions that could reach as much as $2 trillion. To get to high enough levels to satisfy the cutting goals would require stiff reductions to programs involving health care, education and aid for low-income Americans.

Making the numbers work has been challenging for House Republicans that can only afford to lose one vote if all members are present with a coalition of fiscal hawks that have pushed for greater cuts to reduce the deficit against moderates that are hesitant about cuts to popular programs.

Have a news tip? Contact Austin Denean at atdenean@sbgtv.com or at x.com/austindenean. Content from The National Desk is provided by Sinclair, the parent company of FOX45 News.