According to an agent who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation, Border Patrol agents confronted Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), during a recent visit in El Paso, Texas.
An agent who requested anonymity to protect their identity, claimed that a colleague confronted Mayorkas. He accused Mayorkas of making empty promises about helping the illegal immigration surge, falsely claiming that the border was “secure”, and lambasting his force. Mayorkas visited El Paso Tuesday, as El Paso is experiencing a surge in illegal immigration crossing its border to Mexico. The expected end to Title 42, the expulsion order for public health, could make things worse.
The confrontation was first reported by the Washington Examiner. It occurred at a meeting of a small group of senior and rank and file agents to discuss suicides within the agency. Three government officials were also involved in the discussion.Â
According to an agent who spoke with DCNF, one agent asked Mayorkas about why he hadn’t responded to their requests for more border security equipment.
“You came here six month ago,” the agent stated, recalling the words of their colleague during the confrontation. “You offered cameras to us, and they would cost about $2 million. “You said you would get it for us, but when you left we discovered that the money was not going to be allocated for two years.”
According to their colleague, Mayorkas told Mayorkas, “You went to Del Rio, and you expressed yourself, and you spoke badly about the Border Patrol,”.
The DHS secretary was referring to the agent’s comments about agents whipping illegal immigrants, which he had previously made.
“He began then going back-and-forth with the agent. “He said, I never said,” the DCNF agent said about the conversation.
The agent intervened and said, “No, let him reply.” He is here and he wants to stay here. According to the DCNF agent, he must answer all the questions we have for him. “We will be respectful. We won’t yell. We will treat you with respect, but we expect answers. It’s not possible to get away with pandering. ‘”
Mayorkas was asked by another agent to define “secure borders” following his public statement that the southern border is secure despite record levels of illegal migration.
“Again, it is lying his arse saying that ‘no’, I never said that,” the DCNF agent said.
“We’re agents, have seen you, heard you,” the agent stated, adding that Mayorkas had denied the statement again and asked for another question.
Agents asked Mayorkas why he believes that increasing their holding capacity is the best strategy to stop illegal immigration.
In fiscal year 2022, federal border officials encountered more than 2.3 million migrants. El Paso is witnessing more than 2,000 migrants every day, adding to the ongoing surge.
“What are we doing?” The strategy used is not right. We shouldn’t be trying to find money to build larger detention facilities. Instead, we should be working to keep them outside.
According to an agent speaking with DCNF, Mayorkas stated that he was working on programs but gave few details.
The agent said, “So all this is empty promises about the help that is coming. And how can you win out our trust when you’ve been repeating the same thing for six months with nothing to back it up?”
According to an agent speaking with DCNF, Mayorkas replied “I don’t disagree with you.” The agent asked Mayorkas if he would agree to this, but he declined, according to the agent present in the room.
