Arizona Gov. Hobbs says drop in illegal border crossings under Trump is ‘good news’

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said Tuesday it’s “good news” that illegal border crossings are reaching historically low levels under President Donald Trump.

“At the end of the day, that’s good news because what it means for border security is that our federal agents who work really hard at the border every day have, now, the ability to focus on the criminal elements and stopping the fentanyl and the traffickers from coming into the country,” Hobbs, a Democrat, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos.

Hobbs spoke about the issue a day after U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan announced that Border Patrol encounters were down to 7,181 for all of March.

“I started as a Border Patrol agent in 1984, which was 41 years ago,” Homan said Monday in a post on X. “I cannot recall a single month since then that the numbers have been that low.”

Hobbs says downward trend in illegal border crossings started under Biden

Hobbs noted that the downward trend in illegal border crossings started after then-President Joe Biden signed an executive order to limit asylum requests in June 2024.

“That president took action too little, too late. But now, I think we’re continuing to see that trend,” she said.

Biden had been waiting on Congress to pass a bipartisan immigration reform bill that Senate Republicans ultimately blocked.

Hobbs believes Congress still needs to take action on the matter despite the fall in illegal border crossings under Trump.

“This is something that’s been kicked down the road for decades. … If our immigration policy can change at the drop of a hat, there’s not consistency, there’s not certainty,” she said. “And having comprehensive change would provide that certainty. We’ve needed it for a long time.”

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