Kate Laurensen is a veteran reporter. She started out covering entertainment news for the local city paper before moving up to the City desk. She studied journalism at San Francisco City College for the Arts.
February 23 , 2026
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Saturday credited federal border control agencies for what he described as a sharp drop in “alien abductions,” telling reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence that the numbers are “lower than anyone’s ever seen before.”
“Thanks to the tremendous work of our border people — incredible people — alien abductions are at an all-time low,” the president said. “No one’s ever seen numbers this low.”
The president did not clarify whether he was referring to alleged encounters with extraterrestrials or to incidents involving unauthorized border crossings. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking clarification.
Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agencies named most often by Trump in discussions of border and national security, maintain records on immigration enforcement but do not track any data on extraterrestrial activity or alleged abductions.
The remarks came after a series of recent statements in which the president has linked national defense and border management with broader claims about unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). In late January, Trump said his administration had taken “unprecedented steps” to protect Americans from “all kinds of threats, including the ones nobody talks about.”
The administration has not released corroborating information or reports on abduction trends, and no federal agency publicly tracks or verifies such claims. Despite the uncertainty, Trump signaled that his administration would “continue the mission of keeping Americans safe — from whatever comes our way.”
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