The days of catch and release at the border are over.
Border Patrol agents manning the southern border have released just two migrants into the US since President Trump’s Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks took the reins, the new head honcho revealed to The Post.
“The days of an open border are done,” Banks, a longtime former border agent himself and Texas’s former border czar, declared Friday.
He assumed the role, serving as the federal agency’s 27th head, on Jan. 22.
“The United States Border Patrol is just getting started. We will not accept anything other than
complete operational control over our border,” the chief added.
The two migrants released into the country were witnesses in criminal cases, Banks said, assuring that they “were fully vetted” and considered “a benefit to the government.”
The chief, however, could not divulge where the migrants came from or what the criminal cases were.
The staggeringly small figure is in stark contrast to the thousands of migrants released into the US per day under the Biden administration — which Banks credits to the abolishment of the problematic “catch and release” policy, rolling back the controversial CBP One app, and the increased assistance from other federal agencies, including the Pentagon.
“Catch and release” refers to the practice of setting migrants free in the US while they await their immigration hearings.
Under an edict by President Trump, they are now taken into custody until they can be deported.
The tough-on-immigration commander in chief also rolled back a Biden-era expansion of the CBP One app, which allowed migrants to easily schedule asylum appointments at a port of entry along the border.
“With the exception of those two, the United States Border Patrol is not gonna release anyone,” Banks said.
“We are gonna process them appropriately. We’re either gonna get them to ICE or we’re gonna get them on a flight back to their country, depending on what they’re amenable to.”
Meanwhile, Border Patrol has also enhanced its broader vetting procedures and has even started receiving cooperation from the Venezuelan government, which has begun providing background information on its citizens to the agency, the Border Patrol honcho said.
Previously, the South American country did not share law enforcement data with the US, making it extremely difficult for Border Patrol agents to vet the criminal backgrounds of Venezeulans showing up at the southern border.
Overall migrant encounters at the besieged border also continue to plummet under the Trump administration.
Roughly 8,100 illegal migrants were picked up by agents patrolling the frontlines in February, according to preliminary leaked data obtained by The Post Friday morning — the lowest monthly figure in at least 25 years.
“At the rate we’re going right now, February, we will see a month lower than some of our daily averages, just in Texas alone back in the day. And I attribute that to consequences,” Banks said.
If the trend continues, the number of illegal migrants crossing the southern border could reach a low not seen since 1968, nearly 60 years ago.
With fewer migrants being apprehended, Border Patrol has also largely freed up their processing centers, leading Banks to offer the agency’s temporary facilities to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
If ICE declines, Border Patrol will move to shut down the temporary processing centers.
“We’re offering up our space to ICE because if you look at the numbers… they’re apprehending more people at the border than we are having come in,” the chief said.
Still, Banks is looking to recruit more boots on the ground as cartel violence continues.
In recent weeks, a suspected cartel IED killed a Texas rancher on the Mexican side of the border and agents have taken fire from alleged cartel members.
Meanwhile, warnings of more IEDs and drone incursions continue to increase.
Banks said the cartels are showing “they’re not too fond of the idea that they’re losing control” of the border.
“The cartel has been allowed to grow and run amok and pretty much control the border for the last four years,” he said.
“We are making sure we’re equipping our agents.”
So far, Border Patrol is interviewing 4,000 potential new recruits and “closed out” last month with 9,000 new recruits — representing “the highest recruitment numbers,” he said.
That comes after the agency shed a quarter of its force under President Joe Biden.
“You’re seeing a bigger desire for people that are willing to join a law enforcement agency if they know they’re gonna be backed and supported,” Banks said.
