Los Angeles Mayor Voices Concerns Over Latino Recruitment in Border Patrol
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass expressed her sadness regarding the increasing number of Latinos taking on roles in the Border Patrol. In a recent appearance on “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer, she shared her thoughts on this development.
Blitzer introduced a report by David Culver, prompting Bass to respond. “It’s unfortunate in some ways,” she stated. “Border Patrol agents will likely face challenges in the field, seeing the realities beyond their training. However, I understand that many are motivated primarily by financial reasons, which reflects a larger economic struggle affecting many Americans. I’m quite worried about the implications of that report.”
Culver’s segment included interviews with Border Patrol recruits, which set the context for the discussion.
Later in the conversation, Culver posed a thought-provoking question to Border Patrol agent Juan Peralta, asking how he felt about apprehending individuals from his own community. Peralta replied, “They didn’t come the right way. They’re not my kind.”
Statistics from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveal a significant increase in applications—up by 70% from the previous year—and indicate that more than half of the agents at the southern border are Hispanic.
In October, the Trump administration announced that the previous fiscal year ended with the lowest number of Border Patrol apprehensions since 1970, noting that agents had made over 237,000 apprehensions in fiscal year 2025, down from approximately 201,000 in 1970.
