This piece reviews recent Arizona border figures under the new administration, highlights steep drops in illegal entries compared with the prior years, and explains why control at the border matters for security and sovereignty while noting remaining risks from undetected entrants.

Trump Crushes Arizona Border Chaos: 92% Drop in Illegal Entries

President Trump campaigned on stopping illegal immigration, sealing the border, and deporting those here unlawfully, and those promises are now being pointed to as drivers of the change in Arizona. The state’s numbers show a sharp decline in illegal crossings since January 2025, when the new administration resumed office. These shifts are being used to argue that policy and enforcement decisions at the top can produce immediate results on the ground.

Arizona recorded far fewer apprehensions and reported gotaways in fiscal 2025 than during the previous administration’s years, and that drop is being framed as dramatic and decisive by supporters. The basic claim is straightforward: stronger enforcement and clearer policy reduce illegal entries. For voters and officials worried about public safety and immigration control, the trend is being presented as welcome evidence of progress.

In President Donald Trump’s first year in office, illegal border crossings in Arizona plummeted to record lows. 

They represent roughly a 92% drop from illegal entries and a record number of gotaways reported in Arizona during the Biden administration.

Those who oppose the prior administration’s border approach point to the scale of entries reported in fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024 as a contrast, arguing that lax enforcement then amounted to a policy of non-enforcement. The comparison is stark: hundreds of thousands reported during those years versus a much lower number in fiscal 2025. That context is used to demonstrate how dramatically policy and leadership can sway migration flows.

Under the Trump administration, illegal entries in Arizona this year were 66% less than the total number of gotaways that Border Patrol agents reported in Arizona during the Biden years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data and gotaway data exclusively obtained by The Center Square. 

In fiscal 2025, 65,813 illegal border crossers were apprehended in Arizona, excluding gotaways, according to CBP data. The fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. 

Sixty-five thousand apprehensions is still significant, and every single illegal crossing presents challenges for local communities and law enforcement. But Republican voices emphasize that the number is a fraction of the earlier peaks and argue that the stricter posture restored order. They say that enforcement, deportations, and clearer rules about who is admitted and who is not can produce measurable results without waiting on Congress.

Critics of the prior administration argued it often issued notices to appear and released many apprehended migrants into the country, a policy they say encouraged more entries. The recent shift in practice aims to reverse that pattern and disincentivize repeated attempts at illegal entry. From a Republican perspective, restoring deterrence is essential to preventing future surges and protecting communities along the border.

By comparison, more than 775,000 illegal border crossers were reported in fiscal 2023, including nearly 577,000 reported by CBP and nearly 200,000 gotaways that Border Patrol agents reported and exclusively obtained by The Center Square at the time.

Fiscal 2025 apprehensions represent a fraction of those apprehended in previous years, including 564,215 in fiscal 2024, 576,901 in fiscal 2023 and 571,720 in fiscal 2022, according to CBP data. 

Even with big drops in apprehensions, the most troubling risk remains those who enter undetected. Officials warn that individuals from hostile nations or with criminal intent are the hardest to track and the ones most likely to evade detection. That reality hardens arguments that border enforcement is primarily a national security issue, not just an immigration policy debate.

Supporters of the tougher stance also highlight voluntary departures and removals as part of the overall picture, noting millions who have left or been repatriated. They say those results, combined with fewer new entries, mean the situation is moving toward greater stability. Yet they also caution that continued vigilance is necessary because one major security breach could undo public confidence quickly.

For now, Arizona’s border appears more controlled than during the preceding years, and that is being presented as proof that presidential leadership and enforcement choices matter. The narrative from Republican commentators is that securing the border did not require waiting on new legislation; it required a change in approach and the will to enforce existing laws.