Stephen Miller Presses Mexico for Zero Border Crossings

Illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have fallen to the lowest point in decades since President Trump returned to office, according to The New York Times. Stephen Miller, now the White House chief of staff, has told American and Mexican officials in private conversations that the drop is not enough, according to officials in both countries familiar with the talks who were not authorized to discuss them, the Times reported.

Miller's goal, those officials said, is zero crossings — a target Mexican officials have said is not achievable given the length of the shared border.

How Low Have Border Crossings Fallen?

Unlawful crossings dropped sharply after Trump resumed office, falling as low as 150 to 200 per day at points last year, per a caption cited by the Times alongside a photograph from the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, cited in a Times chart tracking migrant apprehensions along the border, shows the broader downward trend, though the newspaper reported crossings have ticked up in recent months to the highest level of Trump's second term. CBP's apprehension figures, as described in the Times report, include encounters both at and outside official crossing points.

What Is Stephen Miller Demanding From Mexico?

According to the Times, Miller has pressed both governments to reduce crossings further, with officials in both countries saying his stated objective is zero. He raised the issue in his previous post as deputy chief of staff and is expected to keep driving the same agenda now that he has moved into the chief of staff role, the newspaper reported. On internal staff calls, Miller has frequently criticized the crossing numbers despite their historically low levels, officials told the Times — a pattern that intensified, they said, as the recent increase took hold.

Why Do Mexican Officials Say Zero Crossings Isn't Possible?

Mexican officials told the Times that a nearly 2,000-mile border makes a zero-crossing outcome unrealistic, even with sustained cooperation. The newspaper's reporting frames this as a direct rebuttal to Miller's benchmark: Mexico has cooperated to significantly slow the flow of migrants, per the Times' own summary of the dynamic, but officials there argue geography sets a practical floor beneath which crossings cannot reliably fall.

How Is Miller Pressuring U.S. and Mexican Officials?

One of the main channels for Miller's demands has been near-daily calls with Ronald Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, according to officials cited by the Times. Those calls, along with Miller's remarks on internal staff calls, have served as the primary avenues through which he has pushed for further reductions, the officials said. The Times did not report any public statement from Miller confirming the private remarks described by its sources, and the account rests on officials in both countries who were not authorized to speak about the conversations.

What Do These Immigration Terms Mean?

Illegal crossing / unlawful entry: Entering the United States between official ports of entry without authorization, as distinct from presenting at a port of entry to seek lawful admission or asylum.

Apprehension: A recorded encounter by U.S. Customs and Border Protection with a migrant who has crossed or attempted to cross the border, whether at an official port or elsewhere — the metric behind the CBP data cited in the Times' chart.

Port of entry: A designated, staffed location — such as the San Ysidro crossing in Tijuana — where travelers may legally present for entry into the United States.

Chief of staff: The senior White House aide who manages the president's schedule, staff and policy coordination; Miller moved into this role after previously serving as deputy chief of staff, per the Times.

The numbers at the center of the dispute — a steep decline from prior years alongside a recent uptick — are not in question between Washington and Mexico City, based on the Times' reporting. What remains unresolved is whether any level above zero will satisfy the chief of staff setting the administration's target, and whether Mexican officials' argument about the border's length will shape how that target is eventually defined in practice.

For the full account of the private conversations and the data behind the trend lines, see The New York Times.