By Neil Vigdor
During a rally on Sunday in Arizona, a critical swing state, former President Donald Trump received the endorsement from the primary union representing Border Patrol agents. This endorsement comes as Trump and his supporters have frequently amplified nativist concerns related to illegal immigration and crime to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Border Patrol Council, representing approximately 18,000 agents and having backed Trump in 2020, officially renewed its endorsement with just over three weeks remaining in a campaign heavily centered around immigration issues by Republicans.
Speaking from a podium adorned with camouflage netting, Trump announced his intention to recruit 10,000 new Border Patrol agents, which would substantially enhance the agency’s staffing levels. He also committed to urging Congress to promptly approve a 10% salary increase for agents and offer a $10,000 signing and retention bonus.
A bipartisan border legislation endorsed by the union aimed at funding thousands of new Border Patrol agents and staff but failed in May as Republican senators, greatly influenced by Trump, obstructed the proposal. This legislation also intended to empower the federal government to swiftly seal the border when migrant crossings became unmanageable.
Paul Perez, the union’s president, who stood alongside Trump with approximately a dozen border patrol agents, warned that Harris’s election would lead to severe repercussions for the nation.
“Every city, every community in this wonderful country is going to deteriorate,” Perez remarked.
Matt Corridoni, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, stated that the Border Patrol had previously supported the bipartisan bill that Trump had helped derail because it would have undermined one of his main criticisms.
“Donald Trump assured us that Mexico would finance his unsuccessful border wall,” he noted. “That was a falsehood. Then he shifted the financial burden onto taxpayers for his failed border wall. Trump is not interested in problem-solving; he merely wishes to campaign on one.”
