(NewsNation) — United States immigration officials along the U.S-Mexico border are increasing efforts to thwart Mexican criminal cartels from moving illegal drugs across the border and into the United States amid President Donald Trump’s plan to secure the southern border.
The push to limit drug entry into the U.S. comes as federal officials have announced a significant drop in encounters between migrants and border agents, which now stand at 600 or fewer encounters each day.
However, since October, border agents have seized $473 million in drugs, including more than $19 million worth of methamphetamine and $144,000 worth of cocaine that was found inside a shipment of cucumbers and jalapenos, federal officials told NewsNation.
In San Diego, border agents seized 20 pounds of cocaine worth $160,000 that was found inside tar buckets, while in Arizona, nearly 58 pounds of methamphetamine were located inside backpacks.
The $473 million in drugs seized is an increase from the $120 million that was seized between October 2023 and February 2024, officials said.
But as border agents focus on trying to stop the influx of illegal drugs entering the country, they are also paying attention to what is moving into Mexico from the United States. Local sheriffs told NewsNation that whenever they see weapons and cash crossing into Mexico, it is a sign that the cartels are successful in moving drugs or people in.
“With that money, (the cartels) are buying things,” Maverick County (Texas) Sheriff Tom Schmerber said.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that federal officials plan to ramp up prosecutions against cartel leaders and create task forces designed to dismantle the transnational criminal organizations.
Officials have also reported that with an increase in border security that has come since Trump took office last month, many migrant families have decided to turn around and return home rather than try to enter the United States illegally.
In some cases, border officials told NewsNation that the decision had kept migrants from being taken by cartel members along the U.S.-Mexico border.