The Biden administration has called for increased funding for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Border Patrol, but it has failed to address key issues facing the agencies, former border security leaders say.
White House Said Axios claimed on Monday that Congress is failing to “do its job” by refusing to pass border security legislation. The bill includes $405 million in funding to hire 1,300 additional Border Patrol agents. But vacancies for Border Patrol agents have increased under the Biden administration, even as CBP spends more money on hiring incentives and lowers staffing standards. Mark Morgan, a senior visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former CBP commissioner, told the Daily that this is less a resource issue than a chronic problem of how the government limits Border Patrol agents’ ability to do their jobs. -Told the Caller News Foundation. . (Related article: “Thank you, President of the United States”: Migrants released from processing centers 245% over capacity thank Biden: Report)
Morgan told DCNF that it doesn’t matter if the government can secure funding for new Border Patrol jobs if the government can’t even fill the Border Patrol vacancies.
“We’re just going to put more money and resources into it. This is a red red herring,” Morgan told DCNF. “[Funding for] Hiring an additional 1,300 agents? Just kidding. They probably won’t even notice it because employment hasn’t kept up with the decline at this point. they are in the hole. So what does it mean to miraculously pass a bill funding 1,300 more agents? ”
“It’s smoke and mirrors again,” Morgan told DCNF. It’s like, “Hey, we’re going to hire more Border Patrol agents,” as if that were a problem, but it’s not. The problem is their policy. If we returned to Trump-era policies without hiring more Border Patrol agents, we could reverse this by 75%. It’s not a resource issue, I know. ”
OLMITO, Texas – FEBRUARY 29: President Joe Biden watches a presentation on immigration and border security at the Brownsville Station on February 29, 2024 in Olumito, Texas. (Photo by Cheney Orr/Getty Images)
The number of Border Patrol agents steadily increased under the Trump administration, jumping from 16,534 in 2018 to 16,806 in 2020. according to In a January report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG). Joe He said the opposite happened when President Biden assumed power in his 2021 year and took administrative control of agencies such as DHS. The total number of Border Patrol agents decreased from 16,614 in 2021 to 16,234 in 2022.
The Biden administration is employing a variety of methods to encourage people to apply to become Border Patrol agents amid a recruiting crisis. C.B.P. Recruitment New hires receive a $20,000 bonus after completing training and working for three years, plus an additional $10,000 if they are willing to work “remotely.”
CBP also Currently recruiting Agents who left to fill vacant positions. To increase retention, the agency has relaxed uniform and grooming standards for existing agents, allowing them to show off tattoos and different hairstyles.
Morgan told DCNF that Border Patrol agents are still leaving despite the incentives. That’s because the Biden administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), led by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, are preventing them from enforcing security policy and doing the work they were contracted to do. Roughly 7 million illegal immigrants have entered the country under the Biden administration’s policies. encountered Border Patrol statistics for 2021 and beyond do not include the number of “fugitives,” illegal immigrants who entered the country without ever being encountered.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas meets with Border Patrol agents as President Joe Biden visits the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, February 29, 2024. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
“This administration has completely transformed its law enforcement and national security mission to that of a processing company,” Morgan told DCNF. “They know that every day, 85 percent of their personnel is pulled from the front lines and relegated to perform federal travel agency duties against illegal immigrants, handing over control of border operations to the government every day. is a cartel that exploits drugs, criminals, and national security threats into this country.”
“Every day, Border Patrol agents go home at night knowing that our nation’s borders are in the hands of cartels and that every aspect of our nation’s safety and national security is at risk. They know they are being coerced into becoming part of the largest human trafficking and smuggling organization in the history of the world,” Morgan told DCNF. “That’s why they leave.”
Many Border Patrol agents have previously told DCNF that this is the case. (Related: Illegal immigrants are double-timing their way across the U.S.-Canada border as 2024 election approaches)
“On an existential level, my agency has lost its purpose and is no longer serving its original purpose: to keep bad guys out and protect the Constitution of the United States,” a Border Patrol agent told DCNF on condition of anonymity.
“No one wants to do this job. It’s thankless, long hours, and as a result we rarely see the fruits of our labor. We didn’t sign up to be Uber drivers or babysitters. Instead, they just picked up a bunch of foreigners,” another agent previously told DCNF on condition of anonymity.
Mr. Biden continues to claim Even after signing a flurry of executive orders in his first months in office that reversed a series of administration-era developments, Congress has approved a bill that he claims will give him more authority to deal with the illegal immigration crisis and porous southern border. He said that it is necessary to ask for border security policies, including deportation efforts, border wall construction, and “remain in Mexico” policies;
FARRE, Texas – JUNE 30: Texas Governor Greg Abbott listens to a speech by former President Donald Trump during a tour to an unfinished portion of the border wall on June 30, 2021 in Fahl, Texas. Governor (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Morgan told DCNF that while it would help if Congress passed a border security bill, the bills the Biden administration and several members of Congress have proposed so far fail to address the root causes of the illegal immigration crisis. Told. Morgan also said Biden doesn’t need to wait to use his executive powers to start enacting stricter border policies now.
“While Congress failed to pass the meaningful border security planned during the Trump administration, we were able to achieve the most secure border in our lifetime,” Morgan told DCNF. “How President Trump was able to accomplish that by using executive orders. He gave us a network of tools, powers, and policies that we needed and indeed demanded. Now we can actually enforce the law.”
“But what did Biden do in his first 100 days or so? He enacted 94 executive orders that dismantled and destroyed the network of tools we had in place,” Morgan told DCNF. Told. “He’s a complete wreck. It’s a complete lie and the American people don’t believe it anymore.”
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
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