Border Patrol Agents are Frustrated and Exhausted as the Crisis Rages On

Since President Joe Biden took office, apprehensions at the southern border have skyrocketed, reaching nearly 179,000 in April alone. This year-to-date, 749,613 migrants have been apprehended, a 196 percent increase from this point in FY 2020. Furthermore, it is important to remember that these numbers do not include all of the migrants who enter the United States undetected.

With no end in sight, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Border Patrol agents are growing more and more frustrated with President Biden’s handling of the crisis as agents are overwhelmed, understaffed and exhausted. So much so that according to a Reuters report, many agents are considering early retirement and others have begun referring to themselves as ‘U.S. Welcome Patrol.’

While the agency is used to an ever-changing approach between Republican and Democratic administrations, many agents claim that they have “never experienced such a dramatic pendulum swing.”

The administration continues to tie the hands of immigration enforcement agencies. One of the most recent actions prohibits the lawfully accurate terms “illegal alien” and “alien” when referring to unlawfully present migrants, citing the terms as being too “politically incorrect.” The administration is proving to care more about the politics of it all than the safety of the American people and the agencies tasked with protecting them.

To make matters worse, President Biden just nominated Chris Magnus, a Tucson Police chief to lead CBP. Magnus has refused to cooperate with CBP and Border agents in the past, putting “politics over rule of law and oath of office.”

These new policy directives, in addition to the catch and release policy, are pushing Border agents to their edge. Rosemarie Pepperdine, a Border Patrol agent working in Casa Grande, Arizona, told Reuters, “We have so many people coming across, and then we’re out there killing ourselves to catch them, rescue them or whatever it is, and then they’re being released. Why even bother?”

The Biden administration continues to worsen the crisis with no regard for how this affects the safety, morale and daily life of border agents. The influx of migrants coming to our border is a direct result of the administration’s actions as they continue to politicize immigration and prioritize radical policies. If Biden doesn’t correct course soon, he will create an even worse staffing shortage in an agency that is already running on overdrive.