In the months following President Donald Trump’s return to office in January, illegal border crossings and human trafficking incidents have significantly decreased. The renewed focus on border security has led to a sharp drop in unlawful crossings, with U.S. Border Patrol agents reporting just over 8,300 apprehensions in February—fewer than 300 per day. This marks the lowest number of illegal crossings in decades. By contrast, in February of 2022, 2023, and 2024, Border Patrol stopped at least 130,000 illegal border crossers each year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Alma Tucker, the founder of International Network of Hearts, a nonprofit organization in San Diego that aids victims of human trafficking—especially in Mexico’s Baja California region—has seen a noticeable decline in the number of children requiring shelter since Trump resumed office.

Under the previous administration, the organization’s three safe houses, which provide food, healthcare, mental health support, and optional religious instruction, were at full capacity. Traffickers frequently used children as “props” to facilitate illegal crossings. Now, with stricter border controls in place, approximately half of the beds in Tucker’s shelters remain empty.

“Definitely it is better to contain the borders, mainly because organized crime is using these people,” Tucker told National Review. “That’s my concern, that organized crime is using the need, the desperation of the people trying to come for a better life to this country.”

Andi Buerger, a survivor of sex trafficking and the founder of Voices Against Trafficking, emphasized that efforts to combat human trafficking should transcend political divisions.

“Human trafficking isn’t about right versus left, it’s about right versus wrong,” she said, adding that any measure that “plugs the hole in the dam of human trafficking” is a step in the right direction.

While critics of Trump’s border policies label them as “inhumane” or “extreme,” proponents argue that they save lives by deterring migrants from embarking on perilous journeys. Stricter enforcement helps prevent individuals from falling into the hands of smugglers, cartels, and traffickers, who often coerce migrants into forced labor or sexual exploitation.

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, reinforced this perspective, stating, “Under the previous administration, we incentivized people to not only break our laws but to put their lives in jeopardy. Even if they got here in one piece, we put them in a situation where they could be easily exploited in terms of labor and sometimes in the form of being put into the sex trades. . . . Those policies that they claimed were humanitarian were actually the exact antithesis of humanitarian.”

Human trafficking remains a global crisis, generating an estimated $150 billion in illegal profits annually, according to the U.S. Department of State. Victims are forced into a range of exploitative labor, including construction, agriculture, illicit massage parlors, escort services, and pornography.

Migrants, particularly those who enter the U.S. illegally, are among the most vulnerable. In 2023, authorities in Merced County, California, discovered 60 suspected trafficking victims—some children—working at an illegal marijuana-processing facility to pay off their smuggling debts. Experts suggest that a majority of women and unaccompanied minors face assault during or after their journey to the U.S.

Buerger warned that paying smugglers always carries significant risk. “Anytime you take a risk by paying someone to transport you, that you don’t know, will make you more vulnerable to any criminal activity,” she said.

Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, has staunchly defended the administration’s policies, arguing that they protect human dignity by reducing opportunities for traffickers.

“So, when President Trump has illegal immigration down 90 percent, how many women aren’t being sexually assaulted? How many children aren’t dying crossing the river? How many women and children aren’t sex trafficked in this country?” Homan asked in an interview with Catholic News Agency.

The administration has also intensified the vetting process for sponsors of teenage migrants to identify potential traffickers, gang members, or criminals seeking to exploit vulnerable youth. Homan revealed that multiple investigations into suspected traffickers are already underway.

“Traffickers better be looking over their shoulders,” he warned. “We’re going to put them out of business.”