CBP officials share fiscal year border security successes
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials gathered Friday at the Bridge of the Americas to announce end-of-fiscal-year border security statistics.
CBP, Border Patrol and CBP AMO officials highlighted an increase in drug and weapon interdictions alongside a sharp decrease in illegal border crossings across the El Paso Sector.
Ray Provencio, CBP El Paso Field Office director, discussed increased narcotics seizures at official border crossings over the past year. Provencio attributed the increase to officer inspections, nonintrusive inspection technology, low-energy portals, and specialized canine teams. Officers also conducted southbound inspections to stop illicit weapons, ammunition and currency heading into Mexico.
“Our U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are seizing two to three times more narcotics in some categories during inspections this fiscal year when compared to last year. Our CBP officers are also conducting southbound inspections to interdict illicit currency from narcotics sales, firearms and ammunition to deny the Mexican drug cartels arms and revenue,” Director Provencio said.
“Mexican cartels operating south of the border in our region have been declared Foreign Terrorist Organizations and anyone aiding or working for them can now be charged with material support for a terrorist organization (18 U.S. Code § 2339),” Provencio added. “Along with our other CBP components, the Homeland Security Joint Task Force and our Department of Justice partners, we are taking a whole-of-government approach to dismantle the illegal activities of these drug cartels and other criminal organizations.”
Jesse Muñoz, U.S. Border Patrol chief patrol agent for the El Paso Sector, reported that stricter enforcement of Title Eight immigration laws, additional manpower and expanded border infrastructure contributed to a drop in illegal border crossings.
Manpower in the sector has included Border Patrol agents and Department of War military personnel, while infrastructure additions include new border barriers and surveillance technology. El Paso Sector recorded fewer than 20,000 apprehensions in Fiscal Year 2026, compared with more than 420,000 in Fiscal Year 2023.
“In Fiscal Year 2023, El Paso Sector was seeing 2,700 encounters per day. Today the Sector is averaging less than 50 encounters per day,” Munoz said. “Our known got-away numbers are down to single digits. We have not released any illegal aliens into the interior of the country in the last 17 months. We are seeing the most secure border in the history of our nation.”
Munoz noted that Border Patrol agents rely on a multilayered enforcement strategy. That strategy deploys agents directly along the border, uses anti-smuggling units to disrupt human smuggling networks and maintains interior checkpoints to prevent illicit narcotics and unauthorized movement further into the United States.
Efren Gonzalez, CBP Air and Marine Operations El Paso director, detailed the role of air support in joint operations, humanitarian rescues and border security.
During Fiscal Year 2026, personnel with the El Paso Air Branch supported operations that resulted in more than 2,000 apprehensions, 10 arrests and nine rescues. The branch also increased its total narcotics seizures by more than 700% during the fiscal year.
“El Paso Air Branch increased total narcotics seizures by more than 700% in Fiscal Year 2026, delivering a significant blow to transnational criminal organizations,” Gonzalez said. “With the Homeland Security Task Force’s support, we are bringing together the full capabilities of our federal, state, local, tribal and international partners to find cartels, disrupt their operations, seize their drugs and illicit proceeds and deny them the ability to profit from criminal activity that threatens American communities.”
“The operations were carried out under the direction of President Donald J. Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, alongside the Homeland Security Joint Task Force and Department of Justice partners,” said CBP El Paso Field Office.
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