For years, the Mexican drug cartels made a fortune sneaking people across our southern border. They were raking in billions — not just from drugs, but from human smuggling too. Under Joe Biden, it was like the border was wide open, and the cartels took full advantage. They went from making $500 million in 2018 to making over $13 billion in 2022. That’s not a typo. Thirteen. Billion. Dollars. The numbers don’t lie.
Why did this happen? Because Biden and his team made it easy. Border Patrol agents were told to catch and release. That means someone crosses illegally, they get picked up, and then they’re released into the U.S. on a promise to show up for a court date — most never do. Basically, the cartels would drop people off at the border, and our government would do the rest of the job for them. It was madness.
But now things are different. President Trump is back in office, and the border is finally being treated like a border again. For the past six months, not a single illegal border crosser has been released into the country. That’s what real leadership looks like. And guess what? Illegal crossings are way down. The cartels are losing their cash cow, and they’re scrambling.
So what are the cartels doing now? They’re getting desperate. Since they can’t move people over land as easily, they’re turning to the ocean. Along the California coast, federal agents are seeing more boats packed with illegal immigrants. These boats are dangerous, overloaded, and often run by smugglers who don’t care if people live or die — they just want their money.
Coast Guard officers are now having to chase down these boats. In one case, they had to shoot out the engine of a boat carrying 12 illegal immigrants because the smugglers tried to escape. In another, Navy sailors found 17 people packed onto a tiny vessel near San Clemente Island. And in a terrible tragedy, four people died when their boat flipped near Imperial Beach. A Mexican man who was piloting that boat is now facing life in prison.
Here’s the thing that really shows how much the cartels are hurting: they’ve more than doubled their smuggling fees. Under Biden, it cost around $10,000 to $15,000 to get smuggled by sea. Now it’s up to $40,000. That’s how desperate they are to keep the money flowing. And they’re willing to risk people’s lives to do it.
The average person knows this isn’t just about illegal immigration — it’s about safety, security, and sovereignty. When Trump shut down catch-and-release, the message was loud and clear: America is not open for cartel business. The border is not a revolving door. And if you try to sneak in, you won’t be rewarded with a free pass.
Now, the cartels are trying to find any hole in the system. But thankfully, the Trump administration is staying one step ahead. Federal agents are working to strengthen the coastal border, putting in new thermal imaging cameras to spot smugglers before they even get close. It’s exactly the kind of commonsense solution we’ve been asking for.
The bottom line is this: the cartels thrived under weak leadership. They made billions under Biden because he refused to enforce the law. But now that Trump is back, they’re being forced to change their game — and they’re losing. That’s good news for every American who cares about law and order.
It shouldn’t be controversial to say that a nation needs secure borders. That’s just basic common sense. And while the media might try to ignore the success of Trump’s border crackdown, the numbers — and the panic from the cartels — tell the real story. This is what real border security looks like. And it’s about time.