EAGLE PASS, Texas — On a recent visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Vice President JD Vance emphasized the significant decline in illegal border crossings, attributing this to President Donald Trump’s administration prioritizing border issues more rigorously than previous administrations. Accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Vance toured the Eagle Pass area in a helicopter, approximately 150 miles southwest of San Antonio. They also visited a Border Patrol facility and participated in discussions with Texas Governor Greg Abbott alongside various national, state, and local officials.
Vance highlighted a substantial drop in arrests related to illegal border crossings, noting a 39% decrease in January compared to the previous month. This decline had commenced well before Trump assumed his second term on January 20, with numbers dropping from a record high of 250,000 in December 2023. This reduction followed enhanced enforcement by Mexican authorities and the imposition of stringent asylum restrictions introduced by President Joe Biden earlier.
“President Trump has empowered — and in fact demanded — that his whole government take the task of border control seriously,” stated Vance. To enforce tighter immigration policies, the Trump administration has utilized U.S. military aircraft to deport immigrants and has transferred some to a U.S. facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Moreover, the administration has extended arrests of individuals residing in the U.S. illegally and discontinued programs allowing certain permissions to remain.
The involvement of Hegseth and Gabbard underscores the Trump administration’s directive to engage various government sectors in reforming border and immigration policies, extending responsibilities beyond the conventional realm of the Department of Homeland Security. “The border crisis has become a matter of national intelligence and it’s also become something that requires the Department of Defense to engage,” declared Vance.
Gabbard criticized the Biden administration for allegedly mishandling individuals with potential terrorist ties who entered the U.S. illegally and were released pending immigration court hearings. “Who are they? What may they be plotting?” she queried, suggesting that concerning activities might arise from the current situation.
Vance’s itinerary included a visit to Shelby Park along the Rio Grande, a location taken under the administration of Gov. Abbott from federal control due to disputes over border security effectiveness. Residents, including veteran Dennis Charlton, gathered in anticipation of the visit. Charlton, who has witnessed illicit activities near his home, credited the administration for the recent decline in such incidents. “I love it,” he commented about the visit. “I just wish we could talk to him to thank him for everything that he and Trump have done.”
This visit follows Trump’s recent move to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, arguing insufficient action on illegal immigration and drug trafficking by those nations, particularly concerning the flow of fentanyl. When questioned on this strategy, Vance expressed that these tariffs act as a wake-up call for Mexico to regain control from drug cartels.
In response to questions regarding deploying U.S. troops to Mexico to combat cartels, Vance dismissed the notion of an impending invasion. “No,” he clarified when pressed for specifics. Meanwhile, he acknowledged gradual progress in immigration enforcement since the administration change. “We have seen pretty significant increases in deportations and apprehensive and arrests,” he explained, attributing constraints to the previous administration’s policies.
Since Trump’s second term commenced, 6,500 new active-duty troops have been deployed to the southern border, supplementing the pre-existing force of around 2,500, mainly consisting of National Guard troops. These forces focus on monitoring, notifying border agents of illegal crossings, and steering clear of direct interaction with migrants.
Under Biden’s presidency, Vice President Kamala Harris was tasked with addressing the root causes of migration, primarily from Central America. Her efforts aimed to uncover why migrants sought asylum or illegal entry into the U.S. Harris’s initial visit to the border came in June 2021, noticeably later into Biden’s term compared to Vance’s early visit during Trump’s continued presidency.
