Exclusive | On the border, federal agents now outnumber illegal crossers and migrants cry when they get caught

SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico — In the span of four quiet hours on the border, just one migrant was caught crossing illegally — and he was met by six burly federal agents who said he’d be sent back to Mexico in the same day.The migrant, a 23-year-old Mexican national named Jovani, burst into tears and proclaimed his support for Trump when he was caught.“I support Trump because he’s someone who seems like he doesn’t like those who commit crimes,” he said after being busted.He added: “I’m in agreement with Trump’s push to deport the bad people.But not the good people.”On an average day this week, border agents in the El Paso sector, which spans both west Texas and New Mexico, have caught fewer than 100 migrants crossing illegally all thanks to the Trump border administration’s crackdown.That’s down dramatically from the peak of 1,800 per day in 2023, and even a major reduction from the 277 agents were catching in December.

Across the entire southern border at the beginning of the month, border agents have caught an average of 359 illegal migrants per day — putting the US on track to have the lowest monthly border crossings in 25 years or more, according to leaked Customs and Border Protection data.“It doesn’t matter if it took you 30 days, 40 days, 60 days to make that illegal crossing, we’ll expedite removal and have you in your country of origin within hours,” Border Patrol agent Orlando Marrero-Rubio told The Post on a recent ride along in the El Paso border sector.Jovani, 23, tried to run from Border Patrol through the dark, remote brush of the wild west desert of Sunland Park, New Mexico after scaling the border wall.It was his second attempt crossing the border, which just cost him $7,000 in smuggling fees to the coyotes, or cartel operatives, who helped him make entry.“I’m very sad because I couldn’t cross, because I couldn’t get to where I wanted to go,” said Jovani as he showed The Post cuts he sustained on his hands...