U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks told Fox News Wednesday that morale at his agency is “going through the roof” under the Trump administration. 

Speaking to “America’s Newsroom,” Banks said, “We’ve had the handcuffs taken off” and “we’re allowed to actually do our job, which is go out and enforce the law.  

“Under this administration, they have literally taken the handcuffs off and allowed us to enforce law instead of policies that were created to contradict the law and so our morale has continued to rise,” he continued. 

Banks’ remarks come following a new report by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that revealed there were fewer apprehensions at the southern border in the entire month of March than there were in the first two days of the month in 2024 under the Biden administration. 

ARMY TAKES CONTROL OF FEDERAL LAND ALONG NEW MEXICO BORDER TO INCREASE SECURITY, PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT 

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has signed orders ending birthright citizenship, suspended refugee admissions, ended the use of an app at the southern border to admit migrants via humanitarian parole, and resumed border wall construction. 

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, Border Patrol agents are now back to doing the jobs they signed up for: securing the border, rather than serving as travel agents for illegal aliens,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this month. “The Los Angeles Times captured the Trump effect on the border with a recent article. Their headline read ‘California, Mexico border, once overwhelmed, is now nearly empty with so few migrants coming into the U.S.’ They wrote, ‘shelters that once served migrants have completely closed.’” 

Banks also told Fox News on Wednesday that recruiting is “looking great” and the Border Patrol is “seeing some of our highest numbers ever.” 

CBP OFFICERS SEIZE OVER $14 MILLION OF ALLEGED METHAMPHETAMINE AT SOUTHERN BORDER 

A Border Patrol agent works to seal an illegal cross-border tunnel between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 11. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images)

“Really excited about that because as you know, during the previous four years under the Biden administration, we saw a mass exodus from the Border Patrol and we saw some of our lowest recruiting numbers. We’re seeing the opposite,” he added. “We’re seeing agents pull retirement paperwork in order to continue staying in and serve, and we’re seeing our recruiting numbers go through the roof.” 

Banks said at one point, the area of Eagle Pass, Texas, “was seeing an average of three to four thousand [apprehensions] a day. 

A large group of migrants, some carrying children, cross the Rio Grande and arrive in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 27, 2023. (Benjamin Lowy for Fox News Digital )

“Right now, Eagle Pass, Texas is seeing an average of 18 apprehensions a day and very few gotaways, little to none. Some days zero gotaways,” he said. 

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo and Greg Wehner contributed to this report. 

Measles cases have continued to surge in Texas since the outbreak first began in late January.

State health officials reported 561 confirmed cases across 23 counties on Tuesday, an increase of 20 from April 11. 

Cases in Gaines County, the center of the outbreak in west Texas, jumped from 355 to 364, according to Reuters, citing the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The county now accounts for nearly 65% of the state’s total cases, according to health officials.

In response to the outbreak, the U.S. government will send seven personnel to the state to help battle the outbreak, the outlet reported.

VITAMIN A AS MEASLES TREATMENT? RFK JR.’S COMMENTS SPARK DISCUSSION OF BENEFITS AND RISKS

Dr. David Sugerman of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave an update on America’s response to the measles outbreak on Tuesday, according to Reuters. He said the CDC had already deployed 15 personnel to Texas from March 4 through April 1 and that the agency planned to send a second team on Tuesday, the outlet reported.

However, Sugerman said a response to the outbreak has been hindered by the cancelation of federal grants to states, according to Reuters.

“We are scraping to find the resources and personnel needed to provide support to Texas and other jurisdictions,” Sugerman said.

SECOND CHILD WITH MEASLES HAS DIED IN TEXAS, OFFICIALS SAY

A teenager’s arm covered in a measles rash. (iStock)

A local public health official also said to Reuters that the outbreak could last a year. 

Dr. Katherine Wells, director of Lubbock Public Health, told Reuters that if the outbreak continues to spread past Jan. 20, 2026, the U.S. could be at risk of losing its measles elimination status. The U.S. was declared free of endemic measles transmission in 2000.

Texas health officials said only 4%, fewer than 25 of the confirmed cases, are estimated to be “actively infectious.” Individuals are likely infectious four days prior to and after rash onset. 

The CDC will send more personnel to Texas to help combat the state’s measles outbreak. (REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo)

Since the outbreak began, 58 of the state’s total patients have been hospitalized. 

Currently, children under the age of 18 make up the largest demographic of those infected with measles, accounting for 381 of the 561 cases.

Two fatalities have been recorded among school-aged children. The children were not vaccinated and had no underlying conditions. 

Since January, seven cases have been reported in those who were considered fully vaccinated and four cases in those who only had one vaccine dose, health officials reported.

The other 550 cases were reported in people who were either not vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown.

Reuters contributed to this report.

A teenager turned himself in to authorities Tuesday night after a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas that afternoon injured four students.

A 17-year-old student was shot in the leg, according to reporting by FOX 4 Dallas. 

Two other students were shot and one was grazed, according to the report. Their ages range from 15 to 18.

One of the victims has “serious injuries” and the others’ injuries are not life-threatening, according to FOX 4.

TEEN SUSPECT FREE ON BOND AFTER ALLEGEDLY STABBING TEXAS TRACK STAR AUSTIN METCALF TO DEATH

The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) said the school was “secured” in an update shared just after 2 p.m.

The suspect, Tracy Denard Haynes Jr., 17, turned himself in at about 9 p.m., and is charged with four counts of felony aggravated assault in a mass shooting, according to FOX 4.

He is being held in the Dallas County Jail on a $600,000 bond.

It is unclear if Haynes was a student at the school, though officials quickly identified him as a suspect.

A student was seen on video surveillance letting Haynes into the school through an unsecured door just after 1 p.m., according to an affidavit.

Haynes allegedly walked down the hallway and started shooting at a group of male students, hitting five, and then shot another student who was not able to run away at point-blank range, according to the affidavit.

A police officer at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas after a shooting on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

During the news conference, DISD Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde said an officer assigned to the school responded within two minutes, followed by additional law enforcement agencies.

Parents and guardians were allowed to reunite with students at Eagles Stadium, which is adjacent to campus, according to the school district. 

All students were picked up by their families as of 6:40 p.m.

Police gather near Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS ON SPRING BREAK RELEASED FROM JAIL AFTER ALLEGED DISPUTE WITH UBER DRIVER

“We understand this is a difficult time and ask for your patience,” the district wrote in an X post. “Counselors are on site and available.”

Video showed a number of first responders, including police, firefighters and paramedics at the school.

Elizalde said she spoke with Gov. Greg Abbott, who offered any resources the district needs.

Abbott posted to X, saying “our hearts go out to the victims of the senseless act of violence at Wilmer-Hutchins High School.”

“We’ll provide law enforcement the tools needed to arrest & bring the criminals to justice,” he wrote. “… Cecilia and I ask our fellow Texans to join us in praying for the victims’ swift recovery and for the entire Wilmer-Hutchins High School community.”

Abbott added that since becoming governor, Texas has provided more than $3 billion in school safety funding. 

“This session, I am seeking an additional $500 million to further safeguard schools across the state,” he wrote.

There was a shooting at the high school nearly a year ago, prompting the use of metal detectors and clear backpacks, according to FOX 4.

Wilmer-Hutchins High School will be closed for the remainder of the week, and additional officers will be stationed at other district schools, Elizalde said.

DISD did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.