Former President Trump said Sunday that if elected, he would ask Congress to raise pay to meet his goal of hiring 10,000 Customs and Border Protection workers.
“So, to reach our goal of hiring 10,000 new agents…we need agents. We have to. We need them dearly, and our great To keep our veteran agents on the force, please don't leave us,'' President Trump told supporters at a rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
“But after I win, I'm going to immediately ask Congress to approve a 10 percent increase. It's been a long time since we gave every agent a $10,000 bonus,” Trump later said.
Congress and government agencies have each taken steps to address pay and hiring over the past year. In its last annual defense spending bill, Congress approved “regularly scheduled overtime pay increases” for certain Border Patrol agents. CBP announced earlier this year that it would provide up to $30,000 to new hires.
Immigration and border security are top issues in the Grand Canyon State, and Trump's comments are aimed at appealing to both Republican voters and swing voters.
President Trump also used the rally to reiterate some of his previous policy stances, including not taxing tips and overtime pay.
Trump's rally came less than a month before the election. Arizona is one of the few battleground states that will decide who returns to the White House. Trump won the state in 2016, but narrowly lost to President Biden in 2020.
Arizona is also home to the Senate race, with Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Republican Kari Lake vying for the seat held by retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.-Iowa). .
