Former President Donald Trump told Americans at an Oct. 13 campaign rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona, that he plans to address a shortage of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents by seeking to boost their pay.
“After I win, I will be asking Congress immediately to approve a 10 percent raise—they haven’t had one in a long time—for all ages, and a $10,000 each retention and signing bonus,” he said, while flanked by a delegation of Border Patrol agents.
A 2023 audit from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector general found that 88 percent of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) respondents reported inadequate staffing over periods of surging illegal immigration.
“Border Patrol and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents do a great job every single day of the year, and they’re just frustrated,” Inspector General Joseph Cuffari testified during a June 2023 Congressional hearing.
In January 2024, Customs and Border Patrol outlined a series of new financial incentives to bolster recruitment.
“CBP is now offering a $20,000 recruitment incentive for all newly appointed Border Patrol agents who successfully complete the academy and three years of service. Another $10,000 will be paid if the agent accepts a remote location,” said Andrea Bright, a Customs and Border Patrol human resources manager.
In late 2023, President Joe Biden signed into law legislation boosting overtime pay for border agents. [Link]
Before proposing the pay increase at his Prescott Valley rally, the former president trumpeted an endorsement from the National Border Patrol Council.
Paul Perez, council president, delivered a brief speech.
“He has always stood with the men and women who protect this border,” Perez said of Trump.
The high-profile figures at Trump’s latest rally included multiple Arizona Republicans known for their tough stances on illegal immigration.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who in 2021 sponsored legislation to pause immigration into the United States for a decade, was among them. So was Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.).
Crane co-sponsored the bipartisan Subterranean Border Defense Act that passed the House in September. The measure, which has been received by the Senate, would require Homeland Security to produce yearly reports on its efforts to thwart cross-border tunneling.
Trump advisor Stephen Miller and Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake also appeared on stage.
Trump’s northern Arizona event came just a few days after early in-person voting and mail-in voting began in Arizona, a critical battleground state.
His Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, stumped in Arizona last week. So did Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
“If you have a ballot, return it immediately,” Trump told the crowd at the beginning of his Oct. 13 speech.
While he and other speakers focused on the case for a second Trump presidency, other attendees had stories of their own.
In the halls of the Findlay Toyota Center, David Arbuckle cradled a little dog in his arms. The Aussiedoodle’s orange-ish ears flopped out from under a pup-sized Trump hat.
He’s named “Mr. Trump.” When he was young, his whole coat was bright orange, setting him apart from the rest of a litter born on President’s Day.
“Only orange dog in the litter,” Arbuckle said.
Arbuckle, a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in the New Mexico State Police, worries that a rash of unvetted border crossings over the last few years will give rise to terrorism in the United States.
100-year-old Vee Duurloo sat with her family near the press pen. She told The Epoch Times she hoped for “a few more years” of a Trump presidency. Duurloo felt she had to show up to the Oct. 13 event to support her choice for president.
When asked what has helped her stay healthy and alive for so long, Duurloo had a simple answer: “Good living and God.”
From The Epoch Times