- Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, confronted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, according to a Border Patrol agent who was in the room during the meeting who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
- “We’re gonna be respectful. We’re not gonna yell. We’re gonna treat you with the respect, but we’re gonna expect answers. You’re not gonna get away with with pandering,” the agent recalled of their colleague’s statement to Mayorkas.
- The agents were frustrated with the lack of support from the federal government in trying to address the influx of illegal immigrants, but weren’t satisfied with Mayorkas’ response.
Border Patrol agents confronted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a recent visit to El Paso, Texas, according to an agent in the room during the meeting who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The agent, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak, said a colleague confronted Mayorkas and accused him of making empty promises about helping with the surge in illegal immigration, falsely asserting that the border is “secure” and lambasting the force. Mayorkas made the visit to El Paso on Tuesday as the area is overwhelmed by a recent surge in illegal immigrants reaching its border with Mexico and as the expected end of Title 42, the public health expulsion order, threatens to make matters even worse.
The Washington Examiner first reported the confrontation, which occurred during a meeting with a limited group of senior and rank-and-file agents to discuss the rise in suicides in the agency, citing three government officials.
During the meeting, at least one agent asked Mayorkas why he hasn’t fulfilled their requests for additional border security equipment, and instead has chosen to publicly slander them, according to the agent in the room who spoke with the DCNF.
“‘You came here six months ago,’” the agent said, recalling their colleague’s words during the confrontation. “‘You offered us cameras, they were going to run about $2 million. And you said that you were going to get it for us and upon you departing we found out that the money is not going to be allocated until two more years.’”
“‘You went to Del Rio, you expressed yourself and you talked bad about the Border Patrol,’” the agent who confronted Mayorkas said, according to their colleague in the room.
The agent was referencing the DHS secretary’s previous comments that now-debunked allegations of agents whipping illegal immigrants reminded him of “systemic racism.”
”He started then going back and forth with the agent. He said, ‘I never said,’” the agent who spoke with the DCNF said of the conversation.
A senior Border Patrol official in the room then tried to intervene, but the agent interjected, saying, “‘No, let him respond. He’s here, he wants to be here. Now he has to answer the questions that we got for him no matter how tough they are,’” according to the agent who spoke with the DCNF. “‘We’re gonna be respectful. We’re not gonna yell. We’re gonna treat you with the respect, but we’re gonna expect answers. You’re not gonna get away with with pandering.’”
Another agent asked Mayorkas to provide his definition of “secure borders” after the secretary publicly said the southern border is “secure” amid record levels of illegal immigration.
“Again, he is lying his ass off saying that ‘no, I never said that,’” the agent who spoke with the DCNF said.
“‘We’re agents, we’ve seen you, we heard you,’” the agent said, adding that Mayorkas again denied making the statement and moved on to another question.
Agents also asked Mayorkas about why his strategy to curb illegal immigration is to increase their holding capacity, according to the agent.
Federal border authorities encountered a record of more than 2.3 million migrants in fiscal year 2022. Adding to the continued surge, the city of El Paso has been experiencing more than 2,000 migrant encounters each day.
“‘What are we doing? Because the strategy being used is wrong, because we shouldn’t try to be looking for money to build bigger detention facilities, instead we should be working on keeping them outside,’” the agent recalled their colleague asking.
Mayorkas said he was working on programs, but provided few details, according to the agent who spoke with the DCNF.
“‘So all of this is empty promises about help that is coming, and how can you win our trust when you’ve been saying the same stuff for six months and have nothing to show for it?’” the agent asked.
”I don’t disagree with you,” Mayorkas responded, according to the agent who spoke with the DCNF. The agent then asked if Mayorkas would agree, but he refused to, the agent who was in the room said.
DHS didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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