A stunning shift is unfolding at the southern border, and President Donald Trump’s name is at the center of it all. Border officials in San Diego, long used to surges in illegal crossings, are taking unprecedented action.
According to RedState, a massive migrant processing facility in San Diego has been shuttered after a staggering drop in illegal crossings. Border officials cite a 186 percent decrease in apprehensions compared to the previous year—a statistic that is fueling both praise and skepticism.
Trump’s supporters are calling it a historic victory for border security, while critics are openly questioning the methods and messaging behind the sharp decline. The closure of the San Diego Soft Sided Facility, which once housed up to 1,000 migrants, marks a dramatic turn for the region often at the heart of the national immigration debate.
The San Diego Soft Sided Facility, a key temporary shelter for migrants taken into custody near the border, is no more. Officials say daily apprehensions have plummeted to an average of 38 people—a figure that led authorities to conclude the facility was no longer necessary.
Chief patrol agent reports confirm a dramatic drop in crossings, particularly in March of this year. In March 2025, San Diego border patrol arrested just 1,199 illegal aliens, which officials note is a 186 percent decrease from March 2024. This sharp downturn is being called “unprecedented” by those overseeing border operations.
Republicans and border security advocates are pointing directly to Trump’s executive actions as the reason for the turnaround. They say the new administration’s uncompromising message—“do not come here or you will be immediately sent home”—has finally resonated with would-be border crossers, deterring illegal entries on a scale rarely seen before.
Yet while Trump allies are celebrating, others are raising alarm bells about the tactics and broader implications of these policies. The president’s approach has been to act quickly and forcefully, relying on executive action rather than waiting for new congressional legislation. This has drawn criticism from Democrats and some immigration advocates, who say it bypasses the normal legislative process.
On “Fox and Friends,” political commentator Charlie Hurt praised the results, stating:
The border is closed. And it's kind of remarkable to think about, if any president accomplished what President Trump has accomplished at the border, you could just sort of go home. Of course, that is not the case with President Trump, he is still working.
But this success story is not without controversy. Many Democrats argue that the administration’s focus on mass deportations and aggressive messaging ignores the complex humanitarian issues at play. They insist that comprehensive immigration reform is still needed and claim that simply shutting down facilities does not solve the underlying problems.
Democratic leaders and progressive activists are not buying the administration’s line that only a new president was needed to secure the border. They point to years of warnings from experts that the border crisis is driven by a range of factors—poverty, violence, and instability in migrants’ home countries—that cannot be solved by executive fiat alone.
During a recent speech to Congress, Trump dismissed these arguments, saying:
The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation. We must have legislation to secure the border. But it turned out that all we really needed was a new president… Joe Biden didn't just open our borders, he flew illegal aliens over them to overwhelm our schools, hospitals and communities throughout the country.
Partisan lines have hardened considerably. Republicans insist the numbers speak for themselves, while Democrats charge that the administration is using fear and harsh rhetoric to achieve short-term gains at the expense of America’s core values. The debate over what constitutes a secure border has rarely been so fierce.
While the closure of the San Diego facility is being hailed by conservatives as proof that Trump’s approach works, many are watching to see if the trend will hold. Republicans want to see Congress pass new legislation to “beef up” border security efforts even further, but so far, no major bills have advanced.
Meanwhile, administration officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, are pledging to keep up the pressure. They argue that the country is witnessing the dawn of a “Golden Age” thanks to the president’s unrelenting actions and vow that this is only the beginning.
Democrats, for their part, are mobilizing to push back against what they see as an overreach of executive power. They warn that closing one facility in San Diego does not address the long-term challenges of immigration, asylum, and humanitarian relief that the nation continues to face.
