(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) The Trump administration has released more than 13,000 inadmissible noncitizens into the U.S. in the first four full months of his administration who arrived at ports of entries (POEs) nationwide, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data evaluated by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonpartisan organization founded at Syracuse University.
The data includes case-by-case CBP Office of Field Operations data reported at POEs nationwide in records TRAC obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.
It excludes illegal border crossers reported by Border Patrol who were apprehended or encountered between ports of entry. It also excludes gotaways, those who evaded capture and illegally entered the country, also deemed inadmissible.
The Immigration and Nationality Act defines “inadmissible aliens” as “An alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, or who arrives in the United States at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General …” The law includes multiple categories and definitions related to public health and a range of crimes and circumstances, including national security and terrorism designations and associations.
“Noncitizens arriving at the United States by land, air and sea continue to seek entry to this country without adequate papers,” the TRAC report states. Since President Donald Trump was sworn into office in January and through the end of May, 50,071 foreign nationals “arrived at ports of entry and were initially found ‘inadmissible,’” according to the data published by TRAC.
“The Trump administration has not stopped all noncitizens without papers from entry,” the TRAC report states. As of the end of May 2025, 10,673 inadmissibles were paroled into the U.S.; an additional 2,351 were issued Notices to Appear before an immigration judge and allowed entry by CBP Office of Field Operations officers, TRAC says, according to the data it obtained.
The greatest number of inadmissables were released into the country by CBP OFO officers in San Diego and San Francisco; CBP OFO officers who issued the greatest number of NTAs were at Laredo and New York POEs, TRAC found.
When evaluating data from February through May, the greatest number of foreign nationals reported by CBP OFO officers at POEs were citizens of Mexico, Cuba, Philippines, Haiti, Canada, Venezuela, Ukraine, India, China, Honduras, Russia, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia and El Salvador, according to the TRAC analysis.
The data includes everyone OFO determined was inadmissible and categorizes the reasons OFO gave for each designation and how they were processed. CBP provided data for most periods, TRAC said, however “CBP recently refused to release” some data it requested, and is “contesting this unlawful withholding.”
The data is categorized by country of origin, month and year, OFO location/POE, inadmissible entry details, gender, age, and other categories and subcategories.
Parole data refers to humanitarian, public interest or parole programs specific to countries.
Each category is searchable using different drop-down menus.
For example, in March 2025, 20,860 inadmissables were reported by CBP OFO officers nationwide. Among them, the greatest number were Mexicans (4,137), followed by Philippinos (2,693), Canadians (2,662), Indians (1,933) and Chinese (1,875).
Among them, the greatest number of inadmissibles released into the country in March were Mexican nationals: 1,548 were paroled into the country; 88 were released given NTAs to appear before a federal immigration judge, according to the data.
The large numbers of inadmissible Philippine, Indian and Chinese nationals are attributed to crew members of ships who didn’t have proper papers. Only 44 Philippino, 71 Indian and 76 Chinese nationals were paroled into the U.S. that month.
Of the 2,662 inadmissible Canadians, 93 were paroled into the U.S.; five were given NTAs. The majority, 2,481, were withdrawals, according to the data.
CBP OFO officers work at more than 300 POEs nationwide at international airports, land and seaports.
TRAC data includes more than 6 million foreign nationals designated as inadmissible by CBP OFO officers at POEs nationwide, from October 2011 to May 2025.
