PALM SPRINGS (KESQ) - President Donald Trump is making immigration enforcement and border security top priorities in the early days of his second term.
Riverside County was home to an estimated 132,000 unauthorized residents as of 2019, according to the Immigration Policy Institute.
KESQ traveled to the border to get answers on what is happening on both sides.
We began with a tour of the U.S. Border Patrol's El Centro Sector.
Agent James Lee guided us through the tour, explaining that operations remain largely the same as they were during the Biden administration.
He showed us a placard commemorating the first installation of the new border barrier, which began in 2018 during Trump’s first term.
Lee explained that fewer migrants are attempting to use the New River as a way to enter the United States, calling it one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country.
The tour took us west, out of town, to the end of the barrier.
The barrier ends at a mountain, where the terrain becomes extremely difficult to cross.
Lee shared the heartbreaking story of a woman who died on the Mexican side of the fence. Agents were able to rescue her 10-year-old daughter, who climbed the mountain to the end of the barrier, where she was rescued on the U.S. side.
We interviewed El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino.
“Not a lot’s changed in terms of our operations here in the Premier Sector,” Bovino said.
The biggest difference, he noted, is that fewer people are attempting to cross, and apprehensions are down.
In January 2025, apprehensions were down 51.6% from January 2024.
“Whether we had 10 apprehensions a day a month and a half ago, and we've got one apprehension today—it's still all low, and it’s always game on. It’s just game on in a different way,” Bovino said.
Recently, while President Joe Biden was still in office, the El Centro Sector carried out "Operation Return to Sender" in the Bakersfield area, leading to 78 arrests.
“We had specific targets, as well as a very robust highway team to look at those transnational criminal threats that we knew were headed into and around Bakersfield, California,” Bovino said.
Overall, no new checkpoints—like those that have been established on each side of the Salton Sea for decades—are expected anytime soon.
At the same time, Border Patrol will not look the other way if they have reason to stop someone during an operation or mutual aid.
“If you're an illegal alien and Border Patrol makes contact with you, you're coming with us,” Bovino said.
Border Patrol Reports Fewer Migrant Crossings Amid Trump’s Second-Term Crackdown News Channel 3-12.
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