EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The Department of Homeland Security says an international media blitz is succeeding in persuading foreign nationals not to come to the United States without authorization.
DHS launched multilingual radio, broadcast and digital campaign in several countries last month featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Her overarching message is to warn those planning to cross into the U.S. illegally to not come to America and break its laws or they will be “hunted down and deported.”
The media blitz is facing pushback in Mexico – the last steppingstone for most unauthorized crossers. That country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, called the ads discriminatory and had one of her agencies send a letter to broadcasters asking not to run them.
But on Tuesday, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Border Report the campaign is having its desired effect and the numbers prove it.
“Our ad campaign is working. The data shows the world is hearing our message,” McLaughlin said. “Border crossings have reached the lowest ever recorded. Migrants are turning back before they even reach our borders.”
The latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection monthly operational report shows illegal border crossings at their lowest levels in decades.
Border agents apprehended an average of 264 migrants a day in March, a 20 percent decrease over February and a 94 percent drop from the 4,488 who were stopped daily in March 2024.
In addition, border wall construction has resumed in the Southwest border and President Trump has directed the Department of Defense to deploy troops in support of DHS agencies. The U.S. Northern Command has created the new Joint Task Force-Southern Border to coordinate military efforts to seal the border. “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, we have the most secure border in history,” McLaughlin told Border Report.
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