EAGLE PASS, Texas — Border Patrol agents based in this region of south-central Texas were thrilled Thursday as former President Donald Trump pulled into town.
“He’s Daddy,” a Border Patrol agent based in Eagle Pass told the Washington Examiner in a text message. Agents are not authorized to speak with media and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“I’m super excited he’s here!! Love him!” said a second agent stationed in this region.
Trump and President Joe Biden both visited the border on Thursday, though Biden was miles away in a lower-traffic region of Brownsville, Texas. The rare dueling appearances near the Mexican boundary reflected the political reality before their likely 2024 rematch that immigration is a top concern for voters.
A third agent said the only downside to Trump’s visit was that he could not attend in person and see the former president. “Wish I was there,” the agent wrote in a text message.
A fourth agent who has been detailed to Eagle Pass multiple times over the past three years said he wished he could have been on the ground to see Trump in person.
“It would be a sight to see,” the agent said.
For three years, agents have warned that morale within the ranks of the federal law enforcement organization has dropped, but the last shreds of spirit have since been dashed by outright animosity from the Biden administration, agents previously told the Washington Examiner.
Working through the largest illegal immigration crisis in U.S. history has been brutal, as has the change in policies from Trump to President Joe Biden. But the biggest factor in the demoralization of the Border Patrol has been the feeling that Biden has demonized agents for enforcing immigration laws that lawmakers passed in Congress.
Trump visited Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, city land on the border that the state commandeered and pushed out Border Patrol agents in mid-January.
The visit was Trump’s first to Eagle Pass, though he has visited other parts of the southern border as president and since leaving office in early 2021.
But Border Patrol agents were not complaining Thursday. Since agents cannot get into that part of the border, they have been sent into the field or to process immigrants in custody, leaving the state to apprehend immigrants who illegally cross into the park downtown.
A fifth agent said he would have liked to have seen Trump visit in December, when illegal immigrant arrests into Eagle Pass topped 2,000 people per day.
“It would’ve been a bit more meaningful a few months ago but I’m aware of what his visit is meant for,” the agent said. “It’s not a bad thing that he’s here. I wish him good luck.”
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A sixth Texas agent said Trump’s visit was meaningful but would be meaningless to agents if the presumed Republican presidential nominee does not win in November.
“Whether he’s here or not he needs to be in the White House to make real change. Obviously, he’s preferred by, I think, most of the patrol. We’ll see what happens,” said the agent.
