Morale among Border Patrol agents is “through the roof” after the victory of President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, and some agents planning on retiring have already reversed their decisions, the union’s president tells Fox News Digital.
“The morale is through the roof,” National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez said in an interview. “We’ve received hundreds of calls, texts, emails, just saying how happy the agents are.”
“There are a lot of agents that had originally said that they would retire if President Trump did not win. And now those same agents are saying they’re going to hold back on their retirement because they want to serve under this administration again, because they know exactly how it was during this first administration, and they know this one’s going to be even better,” he said.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks about immigration and border security near Coronado National Memorial in Montezuma Pass, Arizona, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump won the backing of the union for his presidential bid, with many agents intensely supportive of his efforts to secure the border. Agents had frequently opposed the Biden administration’s change in policies, and tension between agents and officials often spilled over.
Agents were furious when the administration fueled false claims that agents on horseback whipped migrants in Del Rio, Texas, in 2021.
Now, with Trump heading back to the White House, Perez says he believes that his election will help with recruiting.
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“We’ve always had a recruiting problem. And so right now, with President Trump coming into office, a lot of people are going to want to do this job. A lot of people have shown interest previously, but they were hesitant to apply and work for the previous administration,” he said. “So under Trump, we’re going to have a good amount of recruits to choose from.”
As seen from an aerial view, Texas National Guard troops watch over more than 1,000 immigrants who had crossed the Rio Grande overnight from Mexico on Dec. 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
He said that under the Trump administration, agents receive greater job satisfaction because they know that the people they catch will be removed “instead of allowing them to abuse our asylum system.”
Perez said agents were enthused by a number of policies, including the potential return of Remain in Mexico, which kept migrants in Mexico as they waited for their asylum claims to be adjudicated.
“Remain in Mexico, the end of catch release, obviously, that’s a big one as well. But Remain in Mexico will probably turn the magnet off. It will allow us to secure the border even better,” he said.
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Perez also said that, while the union backed a bipartisan border security bill backed by the Biden administration last year, now they are hoping for something more muscular — similar to the House GOP border bill, known as HR 2.
“I’m not looking at the past. I’m not looking at the bipartisan border security bill. At the time, that was probably what our guys were looking for at the time, hoping that it would be brought to the floor, amended and made and strengthened. But what I’m looking for, what I personally want to see, is H.R. 2, a strong security bill like H.R.2.”
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Ultimately, however, Perez said he believes that Trump’s return will send a message to the cartels and also give a voice to those victims of illegal immigrant crime.
“He’s going to give them a voice, and he is going to take care of their families from the horrific crimes that were committed against them by people that should have never been in the country to begin with. So we’re looking very much forward to President Trump taking over and making this country safe again,” he said.