Donald Trump receives endorsement from major union as part of plan to overhaul Biden’s border policies
Donald Trump promised to strengthen the beleaguered Border Patrol with thousands of new agents if he were elected to put an end to what he calls the importation of migrants by Biden and Harris.
The agency has recently faced employee retention and recruitment issues, in addition to low morale, as many field agents have been assigned processing duties amid the historic surge of approximately 10 million migrants we have experienced over the past 3.5 years .
The ex-president’s policy proposal came at a rally before thousands Sunday at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona — an hour and a half north of Phoenix, through winding passes that bisect red pillar-like mountains.
Enthusiastic border agents cheered enthusiastically when Trump brought up the Border Patrol and his past success in working with them: “You know what I did, I called them up and said ‘close the border,'” he recalled before crediting himself for the low migration numbers.
Then he promised that if he won on Election Day, “The migrant invasion ends and our country’s recovery begins.”
To do that, Trump said he wanted to hire dozens of new Border Patrol agents.
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, talks to members of the U.S. Border Patrol before speaking during a campaign rally, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Arizona
The ex-president said he aims to hire 10,000 new Border Patrol agents if he takes office.
He will also work on a plan with Congress to approve pay raises and bonuses.
“If I win, I will ask Congress to immediately approve a 10 percent raise for all officers, and a $10,000 dollar retention and signing bonus,” he stated.
The ambitious hiring goal comes as the agency has seen a wave of retirements and a lack of interested employees.
Shockingly, 88 percent of Border Police posts reported being understaffed report of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Knowing that workforce levels are in the red, the Biden-Harris administration announced its own bonus earlier this year to recruit more officers.
But reports indicate the bounty of up to $30,000 is struggling to incentivize Border Patrol applicants.
In addition, at least 4,000 agents have left the Border Patrol since October 2020, twice as many as during Trump’s first presidency, according to the American newspaper The Guardian. Washington Examiner.
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, speaks during a campaign rally at the Findlay Toyota Arena on Sunday, October 13, 2024 in Prescott Valley, Arizona. He was supported by the National Border Patrol Council at the event
Paul Perez, chairman of the National Border Patrol Council, speaks for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally
As he unbuttoned his shirt, Perez revealed another shirt with MAGA on the front
U.S. Border Patrol agents collect and sort migrants who gathered overnight between the primary and secondary border walls separating Mexico and the United States following the announcement of tough new restrictions imposed by U.S. President Biden in San Diego, California, U.S., June 6, 2024. According to reports from Congress, morale among Border Patrol agents is low
Currently, the Border Patrol has about 19,000 agents, and they all supported the former president at the event.
On stage, Trump was also officially endorsed by the Border Patrol union, which represents more than 19,000 members.
“On behalf of the 16,000 men and women represented by the National Border Patrol Council, we wholeheartedly support and support President Donald J. Trump as President of the United States,” said NBPC President Paul Perez.
‘We have to make a choice in November. Continue the chaos, let the criminal cartels control the border, allow drugs and fentanyl through our country, or put an end to it once and for all.
“If we let Border Czar Harris win this election, every city, every community in this great country is going to hell.”
The crowd erupted in support.
Paul Perez, chairman of the National Border Patrol Council, hugs Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump
Trump talked about how the agency has been distorted by the Biden-Harris administration.
“Kamala demanded that they help the illegal migrants,” the former president said of Border Patrol’s troubled efforts to process millions of migrants for entry into the US in recent years.
According to a 2023 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report, “In some sectors, the U.S. Border Patrol has diverted up to 60 percent of its agents from the border security mission to care for families and children, significantly reducing agent presence at the border has been reduced.’
Furthermore, reports from Congress indicate that the morale of many of these Border Patrol agents has suffered as a result of the processing operations.
“What Kamala and her radical left accomplices did to the state of Arizona is a crime that can never be forgiven,” Trump added.
“For four years she has imported an army of illegal alien gang members and migrant criminals from the dungeons of the Third World.”
During his previous stint in the White House, Trump had a similar goal: increasing the Border Patrol workforce.
He then attempted to increase the force to 25,000 men, but the number of active officers never came close to that number.