As irregular crossings fall, Border Patrol shifts focus from the wall to the highways

A 109-degree Fahrenheit sun beat down on Highway 8 near Yuma, Arizona. A young driver, stopped by Border Patrol agents, tried to convince them there was no reason to pull him over in such scorching heat.“There’s no one there. I don’t know what you all are doing,” the driver, who claimed to be a U.S. citizen, said in a video released by the agency. “I just have my stuff,” he insisted as a German shepherd sniffed around the white sedan.But when officers in olive-green uniforms opened the trunk, they found an undocumented Mexican migrant. He was drenched in sweat. Pieces of carpet were stuck to the soles of his shoes, a method used by human smugglers to prevent migrants from leaving footprints in the desert sand as they make the crossing.The incident was one of seven reported in July by the Yuma sector of the Border Patrol during vehicle inspections on highways and at checkpoints, which serve as an additional layer of screening beyond the inspections conducted at official ports of entry.The operations reflect a shift in strategy by the agency in Yuma and other sectors as unauthorized crossings continue to plummet along the 1,954-mile U.S.-Mexico border. Agents are now focusing greater attention on highways, where they are seeking to intercept drug shipments, migrants who have already entered the country unlawfully, and the people transporting them.On July 10, 2026, Yuma Station Border Patrol agents conducted a vehicle stop on Interstate 8, where they discovered a Mexican national unlawfully present in the United States concealed in the trunk of the vehicle. At the time, outside temperatures reached 110°F, and the… pic.twitter.com/cT1p6yNSxr— Chief Patrol Agent - Yuma Sector (@USBPChiefYUM) July 20, 2026 The operations have also targeted truck drivers who obtained work permits during the Biden administration and whose status the Trump administration no longer recognizes. More than 130 truckers holding commercial driver’s licenses have been arrested since May in two enforcement operations involving Border Patrol agents in Yuma. The drivers carried commercial licenses issued by the states of California, New York, Washington and Virginia.“We are committed to protecting our citizens from all international threats, whether that is from unlicensed or untrained drivers, or transnational criminal organizations engaged in human or drug trafficking,” said Dustin W. Caudle, acting chief of Border Patrol in the Yuma sector, in a statement.More checkpoints in San DiegoThe border wall has become an almost silent barrier since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. Migrant apprehensions have fallen 95% from 2023 levels, when 2.4 million arrests were recorded. So far in fiscal year 2026, which ends on September 30, that number has plunged to just 115,762 apprehensions, according to government statistics.Meanwhile, the Border Patrol continues to grow. At the end of June, the agency reached the largest force in its 102-year history, with 21,471 agents. The Trump administration has set a goal of increasing that number to 25,000.Since last summer, Border Patrol agents have been deployed in immigration enforcement operations in cities including Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento and New Orleans. Their involvement drew sharp criticism in Minneapolis, where an officer fatally shot U.S. citizen Alex Pretti during a protest against immigration raids in January 2026. In Chicago, agents from the same agency shot Marimar Martínez five times, leaving her wounded, during a confrontation linked to an immigration operation in October 2025.Now that they have returned to their day-to-day duties along the border, agents have had to rethink how they operate. In California’s San Diego sector, more resources have been assigned to checkpoints along Interstates 5 and 15, while other agents have joined maritime patrols. Human smugglers continue to place migrants in rudimentary boats to cross from Tijuana to the coasts of San Diego and Los Angeles.“We can now patrol all 60 miles of our sector,” Justin De La Torre, chief of the Border Patrol’s San Diego sector, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We can patrol the coastline and operate our checkpoints, which allows us to identify groups that make it across the border,” he added.De La Torre told the newspaper that these operations have led to the arrest of about 100 undocumented migrants in the San Diego sector in recent months. In late July, for example, agents detained a Turkish national at one of the checkpoints who was subject to a deportation order after failing to appear for immigration court hearings.Near the Temecula checkpoint in Riverside County, Border Patrol agents took two Mexican nationals into custody after finding them without documents. During questioning, both said they had taken Highway 15 north because they were headed to Las Vegas for a vacation. Their journey ended there.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition