(The Center Square) – Illegal border crossings dropped to their lowest level in recorded U.S. history in June.

Nationwide, 25,228 illegal border crossers were apprehended, the lowest monthly total in history, according to newly published U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

The greatest number apprehended were nationwide at land, sea and air ports of entry totaling 10,089, followed by 9,306 at the southwest border and 5,833 at the northern border, according to the data.

By comparison, under the Biden administration, there were 204,932 illegal border crossers reported in June 2024, 211,457 in June 2023 and 247,523 in June 2022, the highest numbers ever recorded for the month of June in U.S. history.

June apprehension data dropped from roughly 29,000, where it held consistent in May, April and March. These monthly totals dropped significantly after President Donald Trump entered office, down from 142,751 in October at the beginning of the fiscal year under the Biden administration.

As was the case every month and every year under the Biden and Trump administrations, the majority of illegal entries last month were of single adults, followed by individuals claiming to be in a family unit and unaccompanied minors.

Under the Biden administration, a record number of unaccompanied minors were smuggled and trafficked to the U.S. In fiscal 2022, nearly 153,000 unaccompanied minor illegal border crossers were reported, followed by 137,992 in fiscal 2023 and 110,672 in fiscal 2024. This fiscal year, 27,467 have been reported to date, according to CBP data.

Under new CBP Chief Rodney Scott, CBP is publishing additional information about Border Patrol apprehension data. It’s broken down by monthly totals reported nationwide, at the southwest and northern borders, “at entry” and “at large.” It excludes Office of Field Operations data.

CBP explains that Border Patrol apprehensions at entry “refers to an alien who has entered the United States without admission and has not yet reached his/her destination, regardless of the amount of time since entry.” Border Patrol apprehensions at large “refers to an alien who has illegally entered the United States, has already reached their destination, and is encountered or who was legally admitted and has since overstayed their permitted time, illegally remaining in the U.S.”

The data shows a 90% drop in Border Patrol apprehensions from June 2024 to June 2025. Border Patrol agents apprehended 87,606 illegal foreign nationals nationwide in June 2024. Among them, 1,800 were apprehended at large and 85,806 at entry. By June 2025, Border Patrol agents apprehended 8,024 nationwide, reporting 2,541 at large and 5,483 at entry, according to the data.

While illegal entries were down, drug seizures were up because more Border Patrol agents were in the field looking for drug traffickers. Total seizures of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana increased by 13% nationwide compared to May, “reflecting continued pressure on cartel-driven smuggling routes,” CBP said.

The greatest increase of seizures was of meth, up by 102% from seizures in May. Heroin seizures increased by 19%, cocaine seizures increased by 9% and fentanyl seizures increased by 3% over the month.

(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a new chief financial officer, long-time ally Blaise Ingoglia, at a news conference in Tampa on Wednesday.

The former state senator, representative replaces U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, who was elected to represent the 1st Congressional District. DeSantis said one of the reasons he appointed Ingoglia to the post was his views on wasteful government spending and property tax reform, which the two-term GOP governor wants on the November 2026 ballot. 

DeSantis said one indicator of Ingoglia’s views on government accountability is his personal X handle, GovGoneWild.

“I’m like, what does that mean?” DeSantis said. “And he told me that was years ago, he was watching out of control spending at the local level and he’s like, ‘why are we paying higher property taxes when you guys are spending like this?’ And it was really to be an activist, to get new people in at the local level that would be friendly to taxpayers, and now, as chief financial officer, this is really going to come full circle for him because he’s going to have the authority to go in and audit all those local governments and really hold them accountable. I care about record and on every single time we’ve had a flash point in the Florida Legislature, Blaise is running to battle to stand up for people like you.”

DeSantis lauded Ingoglia, whom he said was a “warrior senator” with a great record on immigration enforcement, the second amendment and other issues. He also said the appointment was key since the post has the ability to audit local government spending as part of the state’s Department of Government Efficiency. 

Ingoglia says he wants to have a “proactive office” to protect taxpayer funds and implement maximum accountability.

“I’ve had a history of calling out wasteful spending whether it was Democrats or Republicans because I truly believe that government is accountable to the people and our job is to make sure we deliver on that promise,” Ingoglia said. “I am going to work hand in glove, side by side, with this governor to make sure we can get rid of the property taxes on homestead exemption and offer real property tax relief to the people of Florida. Part of that is also making sure we are cutting back, cutting away and eliminating wasteful spending at the local level. I promise you we are going to start digging in and we are going to start calling out some of this wasteful spending.”

(The Center Square) – Consumer prices increased more than expected in June as Americans face higher prices on a wide range of imported goods as President Donald Trump’s tariffs show up in federal economic reports for the first time.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or CPI-U, showed a 0.3% increase last month – triple May’s 0.1% pace and the most significant monthly gain since January, when Trump returned to the White House for his second term.

On an annual basis, inflation was at 2.7%, up from 2.4% in May. That’s above the 2.6% yearly gain economists had projected for June. Core CPI, which excludes fast-moving food and energy prices, rose 0.2% over the month and 2.9% over the past year. That was in line with forecasts.

“Indexes that increased over the month include household furnishings and operations, medical care, recreation, apparel, and personal care,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. “The indexes for used cars and trucks, new vehicles, and airline fares were among the major indexes that decreased in June.”

According to the report, the index for shelter rose 0.2% in June and was the primary factor in the monthly increase for all items.

Brian Wesbury, chief economist at First Trust LP, said tariffs weren’t to blame.

“Core CPI up just 0.2%. But, year-ago comparisons are tough and the year-over-year ‘core’ rose slightly to 2.9%,” he wrote in a post on X. “Better to look at 3-month annualized changes. The 3-month annualized increase was just 2.4%, down from 3.6% in February. Tariffs don’t cause inflation.”

Jason Furman, a Harvard professor who spent eight years as a top economic adviser to former President Barack Obama, said tariffs were the cause. 

“You can see signs of tariffs in these numbers and that is only likely to grow,” he said.

Justin Wolfers, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan, was more neutral about the report.

“These numbers are pretty much in line with expectations,” he wrote on X. “The absence of bad news is good news.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the report shows that tariffs aren’t raising prices.

“Every month since President Trump took office, core inflation – the best measure of inflation – has beat or matched expectations,” she said. “The data proves that President Trump is stabilizing inflation and the Panicans continue to be wrong about tariffs raising prices.”