
Illegal border crossings plunge to levels not seen in decades amid Trump crackdown
Over the past 25 years, the only time monthly apprehensions came close to the level recorded in February was in April 2017.
Watch CBS News
Camilo Montoya-Galvez is an award-winning reporter covering immigration for CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple CBS News and Stations platforms, including the CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and CBS News Radio.
Montoya-Galvez is also part of CBS News' team of 2024 political campaign reporters.
Montoya-Galvez joined CBS News in 2018 and has reported hundreds of articles on immigration, the U.S. immigration policy, the contentious debate on the topic, and connected issues. He's landed exclusive stories and developed in-depth reports on the impact of significant policy changes. He's also extensively reported on the people affected by a complex immigration system.
Before joining CBS News, Montoya-Galvez spent over two years as an investigative unit producer and assignment desk editor at Telemundo's television station in New York City. His work at Telemundo earned three New York Emmy Awards.
Earlier, he was the founding editor of After the Final Whistle, an online bilingual publication featuring stories that highlight soccer's role in contemporary society.
He was born in Cali, Colombia's third-largest city, and raised in northern New Jersey.
He earned a bachelor's degree in media and journalism studies/Spanish from Rutgers University.
Over the past 25 years, the only time monthly apprehensions came close to the level recorded in February was in April 2017.
The move applies to immigrants over the age of 13 who are in the U.S. unlawfully and who have not submitted fingerprints or registered with the federal government.
The Trump administration has prepared plans to implement a policy that would allow U.S. officials to swiftly expel migrants on the grounds that they could spread diseases.
Caleb Vitello was installed by President Trump to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an acting capacity at the start of his second administration in January.
"I can tell you this: anyone that has crossed the border between the ports of entry since this administration has taken office has not been released," Border Patrol chief Mike Banks told CBS News.
John Rosenow, a fifth-generation farmer in Waumandee, Wisconsin, said about 90% of the work on his farm is done by immigrants.
Affected organizations said the move would prevent them from offering critical legal services to migrant children who crossed the U.S. southern border without their parents or legal guardians.
The move threatens to cast a cloud of uncertainty over many migrants who applying for immigration benefits that would allow them to stay in the U.S. legally and, in some cases, permanently.
Officials at DHS said they had fired hundreds of employees across several of its agencies.
The U.S. is deporting unauthorized migrants from Africa and Asia to Panama, a major diplomatic breakthrough for the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts.
A group of advocates filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to require the Trump administration to give migrant detainees at Guantanamo Bay access to lawyers.
While the Trump administration has highlighted transfers of dangerous criminals to Guantanamo Bay, it is also sending nonviolent, "low-risk" migrants.
President Trump directed officials to prioritize the resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa through the U.S. refugee program, which he suspended on his first day in office.
The Trump administration's objective is to send groups of unauthorized migrants from the U.S. mainland to Guantanamo each day, using military aircraft to airlift and relocate detainees.
Since Mr. Trump's inauguration, ICE has increased arrest operations across the country, recording as many 1,000 arrests on some days.