Latest news with #BorderPatrol
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Border Patrol morale goes through the roof, 'dramatically' changed under Trump administration
TUCSON SECTOR, ARIZONA– Under the bright sun, Border Patrol agents Daniel Hernandez and Teresa Fast glisten with sweat as they stride along the rusted fence separating the United States and Mexico. They revealed the reality of what life is like working at the border. "A few months ago, before the election and before the previous administration, we were mostly doing processing of detained individuals," Hernandez told Fox News Digital. "That's an administrative duty that is part of our job, but it used to be a small sliver of it, [and we were] doing a large portion of that. Now it's inverse." "Now we're doing small slivers of the processing, and we're doing the bulk of patrolling duties. Most of our agents are out there patrolling." "We're historically one of the busiest sectors," the homeland security agent said. "We're at [a] 91% reduction [rate] over last year's amounts, but that's because we're out here every single day." "If we were to take our foot off the gas and just assume the border's secure, then we would lose what we had gained. So every single day we have to invest in patrolling," he added. According to the White House, as of April 28 of this year, illegal border crossings "are down by 95%" when compared to numbers under the Biden administration. Previously restrained by budget cuts that impeded the completion of their duties, the border patrol agents communicated a renewed sense of faith for increasing safety for all involved. "People are less inclined to climb a fence of this magnitude," Hernandez relayed while pointing to the southern border wall. "If they do, they have to go up high, then our cameras or our agents can spot them if they go up high. So that's the advantage of having robust infrastructure on the border that buys us time to get here." "Smugglers will try anything. It's shocking that they will risk somebody's life by getting them up on a really small, handmade ladder," he continued. "[It's one] way somebody might try to defeat the border wall… and people will always try." The empathy portrayed by agents when considering the human element of deportations and illegal crossings is an echoed sentiment among Tucson sector Border Patrol chief, Sean McGoffin. "The cartels treat people as a commodity rather than as human beings. It's up to us to reintroduce that element of humanity and make sure we're saving the lives of those individuals the cartels leave behind. One of the great things we do in the Border Patrol — though it's rarely talked about — is the rescues we perform each and every day," the CBP Chief told Fox News HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fast added, "The men and the women of the patrol are really what makes it run. That's what keeps our country safer, the people who are giving up those games with their kids and their [holidays] and working night shifts – that's what keeps our country safe. That's really what it is, the men and the women of the border patrol."
The Independent
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Border Patrol carries out raid at Home Depot parking lot 600 miles from US-Mexico border
Border agents arrested at least 11 people during a Thursday raid outside a northern California Home Depot — including a U.S. citizen who was volunteering as an observer, according to local activists. The operation, which took place in the Sacramento area, nearly 600 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, is the latest show of force from the Border Patrol in the state, which joined a full-cavalry raid in a Los Angeles park earlier this month. 'There is no such thing as a sanctuary city,' Border Patrol El Centro sector chief Gregory Bovino said Thursday in a video filmed in front of the state capitol building, referring to jurisdictions that don't voluntarily assist with federal immigration enforcement. 'There is no such thing as a sanctuary state,' Bovino added in the clip, which features images of masked agents arresting men, soundtracked by the Kanye West song 'Power.' At least 11 people unlawfully in the U.S. were arrested in the early-morning operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security, including an immigrant man officials said was a 'serial criminal' with past charges including illegal entry, possession of marijuana for sale, and felony burglary. Bovino, in the video, said the arrests included a man who appears to have past fentanyl trafficking charges, and an individual arrested for impeding or assaulting a federal officer. However, Andrea Castillo said her husband Jose Castillo is a U.S. citizen and was among those arrested. Video shared with KCRA shows Andrea Castillo yelling at agents as a group of masked officers pile Jose into an unmarked black minivan. 'Leave him alone, he's a U.S. citizen!' she can be heard saying. In the footage, one of the agents threatens to mace Castillo, and later says, 'Google me,' when she asks for his badge number. During the exchange, agents say they are detaining Jose Castillo because they believe he slashed the tires on a federal vehicle. The activist group NorCal Resist said Jose Castillo was volunteering on behalf of the organization to document the operation, but did not impede officers. The group added that he has since been released. Local lawmakers are questioning whether the operation violated a recent court order. Assembly member Rhodesia Ransom, whose district includes nearby Stockton, has reportedly asked the state attorney general's office to investigate if federal officers are running afoul of state and federal laws or the U.S. Constitution with the operations. 'The Border Patrol should do their jobs – at the border – instead of continuing their tirade statewide of illegal racial profiling and illegal arrests,' Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the governor's office, told Cal Matters. While the Border Patrol can operate within 100 miles of any U.S. border, including the California coast and nearby cities, a federal judge held in April that the agency cannot conduct warrantless immigration stops throughout California's Eastern District, which includes Sacramento. The ruling came in response to a series of operations at the beginning of the year targeting farmworkers in Kern County, which critics said were based on little more than the men's appearance. 'You just can't walk up to people with brown skin and say, 'Give me your papers,'' U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer L. Thurston said in court at the time. A separate ruling last week barred the Border Patrol from making similar raids in the district including Los Angeles, after a lawsuit accused federal agents of making indiscriminate arrests in locations like Home Depot parking lots. When asked about the alleged arrest of a U.S. citizen and the legal criticisms, federal officials pointed to a Homeland Security press release announcing the operation, which did not mention either subject. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the architect of much of the administration's immigration policy, has reportedly pressed immigration officials to reach 3,000 arrests per day, including by targeting hubs for day laborers like Home Depot parking lots. The Trump administration's recently passed ' Big, Beautiful Bill' domestic spending legislation contains about $170 billion in wider immigration and border funding, which officials say will fuel a surge in domestic immigration operations.
New York Times
17 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
To Staff Trump's Immigration Crackdown, ICE Entices Its Retirees
The Trump administration is trying to recruit recently retired immigration officers to fix a labor crunch, offering hefty signing bonuses and other financial incentives to staff its nationwide deportation campaign. President Trump has outlined a plan to expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement by 10,000 officers and detail many of them to large, urban areas to accelerate efforts to remove migrants living illegally in the United States. Earlier this month, Congress approved legislation that more than tripled the agency's budget in support of that crackdown. Yet grueling schedules, worsening morale and increasing pressure to hit deportation quotas have complicated the already considerable challenge of finding thousands of qualified recruits to join ICE. So, too, have concerns that a massive, overnight expansion of the ranks could lead to lax vetting procedures, creating new problems such as those that occurred in the Border Patrol during George W. Bush's administration. This leaves the Trump administration turning to a pool of professionals who, leaders believe, could hit the ground running. 'This is a pivotal moment in our country's history, and your experience and expertise are vitally needed,' read an announcement on the ICE website seeking deportation officers and criminal investigators. 'On behalf of a grateful nation, we proudly call upon you to serve your country.' Trump administration officials have been posting links to the website and the federal job application portal on LinkedIn. They have also been emailing former officers directly, appealing to those who left the job within the last five years and departed in good standing to reapply. 'We are issuing an urgent call to former I.C.E. law enforcement officers to join OPERATION RETURN TO MISSION,' read an email to former officers reviewed by The New York Times, which promised that qualified candidates would be able to draw a salary and their pension simultaneously and collect up to $50,000 in bonuses. It was also clear from the announcements that administration officials wanted to recruit retirees back quickly, as the full bonus would only be available to those who applied in the next two weeks. 'Ready to rejoin the mission and get up to a $50k signing bonus ON TOP OF rehired annuitant pay (pension + paycheck)?' Robert J. Hammer, a Homeland Security Department official, posted on LinkedIn. 'Submit your application by Aug 1 to be eligible for the full recruitment incentives package.' It was not immediately clear how much interest there would be in the offer, but Mr. Hammer's post — and copies of it that were reposted to other LinkedIn pages — drew a handful of positive responses from former ICE officials. Representatives from the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nicholas Nehamas contributed reporting.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Texas Border Crackdown: Three Arrested, Including Child Molesters, In Separate Operations
Law enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border arrested three sex offenders in separate busts earlier this week. Border Patrol agents arrested illegal aliens, 39-year-old Mateo Pablo Martin, of Guatemala, and 45-year-old David Antonio Varcenas-Aguilar, of Mexico, according to a press release. Customs and Border Protection officers also busted 19-year-old Roberto Medina, an American wanted for sexual assault. 'These arrests demonstrate our Border Patrol agents' unwavering commitment to protecting our communities from dangerous individuals,' said Gloria Chavez, chief patrol agent of the Rio Grande Valley Sector, in the release. Agents from the McAllen Border Patrol Station arrested Martin, in the country illegally, on July 14. 'Records indicate Pablo-Martin was convicted by the Riverside Sheriff's Office in February of 2018 for molesting a child under 18 years old,' the release said. He was sentenced to 170 days in jail and 30 months' probation. Martin did not immediately appear in Texas or California's sex offender registries. Separately, agents from the Fort Brown Border Patrol Station in Brownsville arrested illegal alien Varcenas-Aguilar on July 12. 'Varcenas-Aguilar was previously arrested in June of 2009 and charged with sexual assault of a child,' the release reads. The illegal was convicted and sentenced to 12 years 'confinement.' According to court documents, his bond was set at $25,000, and he is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals. In yet another bust, CBP officers at the Progreso Port of Entry – between Brownsville and McAllen – arrested Medina for sex assault in Austin. Medina, a 19-year-old American, tried to cross the border at the Progreso International Bridge on July 14, according to the release. Officers sent him to 'secondary inspection.' They found through 'biometric verification' that he was wanted on a felony warrant from the Austin Police Department for sexual assault. 'Medina was turned over to Hidalgo County sheriff's deputies for transport to jail and adjudication of the warrant,' the release reads. Officials cited the National Crime Information Center, a 'centralized automated database' to share law enforcement information. In the past, it has led border agents to capture fugitives wanted for 'homicide, escape, money laundering, robbery, narcotics distribution, sexual child abuse, fraud, larceny, and military desertion.' 'Criminal charges are merely allegations,' the release reads. 'Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.' As The Dallas Express previously reported, the database previously helped officers bust a suspect wanted in Dallas for soliciting a minor online. Progreso Port Director Michael Martinez said in the release that traffic has been rising with the summer travel season. 'Our frontline CBP officers continue to maintain their vigilance and apprehended a pedestrian wanted for a sex-related offense,' Martinez said. 'Apprehensions like these exemplify what our officers do every day to secure our borders and keep our communities safe.'
Fox News
a day ago
- Fox News
Feds' California Home Depot raid nabs 11 illegal migrants, one with 67 prior jail bookings
Despite pushback from California officials to federal immigration enforcement, Border Patrol in Sacramento arrested 11 illegal migrants during a tense raid at a Home Depot parking lot on Thursday — including one man with 67 prior jail bookings in California since 1986 and a prior fentanyl trafficking conviction. Fox News was on scene as the migrants scattered in all directions when federal agents moved in to make arrests in the sanctuary city. That triggered multiple foot chases and several physical encounters between masked agents and fleeing migrants. In one foot pursuit, agents chased a man who they say slashed the tire of a law enforcement vehicle. The man claimed to be a U.S. citizen. Agents eventually maced the man in the face before arresting him and taking him into custody. His wife shouted at agents throughout the incident, insisting he is a U.S. citizen. Border Patrol agents were forced to drive the damaged vehicle away on its rims. Gregory Bovino, U.S. Border Patrol chief for the El Centro Sector, said his agency will continue prioritizing the removal of criminal illegal immigrants. "There is no sanctuary city, Sacramento is not a sanctuary city, the state of California is not a sanctuary state, there is no sanctuary anywhere," Bovino said. "We'll be here, you'll probably see us in many other locations as well. We're here to stay, we're not going anywhere. We're going to effect this mission and secure the homeland." The migrant with 67 prior jail bookings is Mexican national Javier Dimas-Alcantara, who is an aggravated felon with convictions and charges spanning decades. His criminal history includes multiple instances of transporting and selling narcotics or controlled substances, felony burglary, possession of a controlled narcotic with intent to sell, carrying a loaded firearm in public and multiple felony-level marijuana possession charges for sale. He's also been arrested for illegal entry, revocation of probation due to reoffending, multiple instances of providing false identification to law enforcement, multiple cases of narcotic possession and being under the influence of a controlled substance. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin slammed the defenders of sanctuary policies. "Dimas has been convicted of a myriad of offenses — you would not want this man to be your neighbor and yet politicians like [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom defend criminals who terrorize American communities and demonize law enforcement who defend those same communities," McLaughlin said. "He and every other sanctuary politician should be thanking CBP for getting this scum out of American communities instead of obstructing federal law enforcement at every possible turn." McLaughlin said that the Trump administration has been given a clear mandate by the American people to get violent illegal aliens off the streets and out of the country. The other apprehended migrants included a previously deported Guatemalan aggravated felon and a previously deported Mexican migrant with a prior arrest for driving without a license. Another detainee is a Guatemalan migrant who had a voluntary return removal in 2009 with prior arrests for trespassing and failure to provide ID. Their names have not been released yet.
