Yuma Border Patrol reports record-low apprehensions amid new policies

YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — The U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Sector reported just one apprehension on Tuesday, as apprehensions at the southern border hit their lowest levels in years.

Before President Donald Trump took office, Yuma saw around 40 apprehensions a day, but now, that number is almost zero.

One of the biggest changes along the Yuma border is the removal of a tent and portable toilets that were once used by asylum seekers.

They were positioned in a location where migrants typically cross into the U.S. through a gap in the border and then surrender to Border Patrol.

“We simply don’t have the need for that resource anymore,” said Yuma Border Patrol Chief Justin De La Torre.

De La Torre said agents have been shifting their focus.

“Agents are able to spend their time looking for threats, looking for any violations of federal law,” he said. “If we have a day where there are zero detections of illegal entries, that’s a very good thing.”

In February, U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions along the southern border fell to 8,300, a sharp decline from 189,900 in the same month last year; it’s a 95% decrease that De La Torre attributes to President Trump’s termination of catch and release.

“In the past, we were releasing them pending a court hearing. Now we are using the expedited proceedings to return them,” said De La Torre.

One of Trump’s biggest campaign promises was to stop the flow of fentanyl across the southern border by threatening tariffs on Mexico as soon as he took office if they failed to take action.

“The leadership in Washington, D.C. has been able to influence other countries to accept their nationals back, that hasn’t always been the case,” said De La Torre.

In terms of border security, De La Torre believes the U.S. is moving in the right direction.

“Border security in Yuma, the city of Yuma, Yuma County, it impacts the entire country,” he said.

He said most undocumented individuals who enter the U.S. through Yuma are headed north to the interior of the country.

“We have a number of lawful pathways for people to come to the United States. If people want to come here and work, there’s a mechanism to do that. We want them to do that legally,” he said.

Those pathways that De La Torre is referring to are through employment-based visas like the H-2A visa, which allows farm workers to work in the U.S.

Currently, there is no legal pathway for migrants at the bord to seek asylum.

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