The union representing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents set the record straight Thursday after President Biden claimed he had the support of his members during a debate with former President Donald Trump.
“We’ve significantly increased the number of asylum offices. Significantly … the Border Patrol, by the way, has supported me and supported my position,” the 81-year-old president asserted during an exchange on immigration.
The National Border Patrol Council denied Biden’s claims midway through the debate.
“To be clear, we have never endorsed Biden and will never endorse him,” the union posted on X.
The National Border Patrol Council represents approximately 18,000 Border Patrol agents and support personnel and maintains a 90% membership rate of qualified officers.
The group gave a muted endorsement of a bipartisan immigration reform bill crafted by the White House and Senate negotiators in February, saying it was “not perfect” but “much better” than passing nothing at all.
It’s unclear whether that half-hearted support is what the president was referring to.
The National Border Patrol Council has frequently criticized President Biden’s handling of the border crisis and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
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NBPC Chairman Brandon Judd previously told The Washington Post that his party members want Mayorkas impeached.
About 8 million migrants have crossed the southern border into the U.S. since Biden took office, including a record high of about 2.5 million in fiscal year 2023 alone.
Nearly half of all apprehensions attempting to cross the U.S. border between designated checkpoints in fiscal year 2023 1.1 million According to Department of Homeland Security data reported by the Congressional Budget Office, there are an estimated 860,000 “fugitives” evading authorities, and 200,000 have been released into the US.
