Latest news with #TeresaFast
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Border Patrol morale goes through the roof, 'dramatically' changed under Trump administration
TUCSON SECTOR, ARIZONA– Under the bright sun, Border Patrol agents Daniel Hernandez and Teresa Fast glisten with sweat as they stride along the rusted fence separating the United States and Mexico. They revealed the reality of what life is like working at the border. "A few months ago, before the election and before the previous administration, we were mostly doing processing of detained individuals," Hernandez told Fox News Digital. "That's an administrative duty that is part of our job, but it used to be a small sliver of it, [and we were] doing a large portion of that. Now it's inverse." "Now we're doing small slivers of the processing, and we're doing the bulk of patrolling duties. Most of our agents are out there patrolling." Chinese Illegal Immigrant Crossings That Surged During Biden Admin A 'National Security Concern,' Expert Warns "We're historically one of the busiest sectors," the homeland security agent said. "We're at [a] 91% reduction [rate] over last year's amounts, but that's because we're out here every single day." "If we were to take our foot off the gas and just assume the border's secure, then we would lose what we had gained. So every single day we have to invest in patrolling," he added. Read On The Fox News App According to the White House, as of April 28 of this year, illegal border crossings "are down by 95%" when compared to numbers under the Biden administration. Border Czar Tom Homan's Message To Anti-ice Protesters: 'You Want Some? Come Get Some' Previously restrained by budget cuts that impeded the completion of their duties, the border patrol agents communicated a renewed sense of faith for increasing safety for all involved. "People are less inclined to climb a fence of this magnitude," Hernandez relayed while pointing to the southern border wall. "If they do, they have to go up high, then our cameras or our agents can spot them if they go up high. So that's the advantage of having robust infrastructure on the border that buys us time to get here." "Smugglers will try anything. It's shocking that they will risk somebody's life by getting them up on a really small, handmade ladder," he continued. "[It's one] way somebody might try to defeat the border wall… and people will always try." Trump Stunned By Change In Southern Border Crossings: 'Hard To Believe' The empathy portrayed by agents when considering the human element of deportations and illegal crossings is an echoed sentiment among Tucson sector Border Patrol chief, Sean McGoffin. Fast added, "The men and the women of the patrol are really what makes it run. That's what keeps our country safer, the people who are giving up those games with their kids and their [holidays] and working night shifts – that's what keeps our country safe. That's really what it is, the men and the women of the border patrol."Original article source: Border Patrol morale goes through the roof, 'dramatically' changed under Trump administration Solve the daily Crossword


Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Border Patrol morale goes through the roof, 'dramatically' changed under Trump administration
TUCSON SECTOR, ARIZONA– Under the bright sun, Border Patrol agents Daniel Hernandez and Teresa Fast glisten with sweat as they stride along the rusted fence separating the United States and Mexico. They revealed the reality of what life is like working at the border. "A few months ago, before the election and before the previous administration, we were mostly doing processing of detained individuals," Hernandez told Fox News Digital. "That's an administrative duty that is part of our job, but it used to be a small sliver of it, [and we were] doing a large portion of that. Now it's inverse." "Now we're doing small slivers of the processing, and we're doing the bulk of patrolling duties. Most of our agents are out there patrolling." "We're historically one of the busiest sectors," the homeland security agent said. "We're at [a] 91% reduction [rate] over last year's amounts, but that's because we're out here every single day." "If we were to take our foot off the gas and just assume the border's secure, then we would lose what we had gained. So every single day we have to invest in patrolling," he added. According to the White House, as of April 28 of this year, illegal border crossings "are down by 95%" when compared to numbers under the Biden administration. Previously restrained by budget cuts that impeded the completion of their duties, the border patrol agents communicated a renewed sense of faith for increasing safety for all involved. "People are less inclined to climb a fence of this magnitude," Hernandez relayed while pointing to the southern border wall. "If they do, they have to go up high, then our cameras or our agents can spot them if they go up high. So that's the advantage of having robust infrastructure on the border that buys us time to get here." "Smugglers will try anything. It's shocking that they will risk somebody's life by getting them up on a really small, handmade ladder," he continued. "[It's one] way somebody might try to defeat the border wall… and people will always try." The empathy portrayed by agents when considering the human element of deportations and illegal crossings is an echoed sentiment among Tucson sector Border Patrol chief, Sean McGoffin. "The cartels treat people as a commodity rather than as human beings. It's up to us to reintroduce that element of humanity and make sure we're saving the lives of those individuals the cartels leave behind. One of the great things we do in the Border Patrol — though it's rarely talked about — is the rescues we perform each and every day," the CBP Chief told Fox News HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fast added, "The men and the women of the patrol are really what makes it run. That's what keeps our country safer, the people who are giving up those games with their kids and their [holidays] and working night shifts – that's what keeps our country safe. That's really what it is, the men and the women of the border patrol."


New York Times
13-02-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Since Trump's ‘Emergency,' What Is Actually Happening on the Border?
It was another day of President Trump's declared national emergency at the southwestern border, and there was not a migrant in sight outside Nogales, Ariz. Teresa Fast, a Border Patrol agent, bumped her truck over dirt roads, past other agents posted up in the desert. Their radios were silent. 'Right now in the field, we really don't have anything going on,' she said. On his first day in office, Mr. Trump turned on the sirens and asserted that only an emergency declaration could halt the 'invasion' along the border. He then dispatched troops to help turn back migrants, sent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to 'sanctuary cities,' and opened a tent city at the military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that houses the accused masterminds of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack — all in the name of defending a border that feels quieter than it has in years. A record-breaking swell of migration during the Biden administration had largely receded by the time Mr. Trump took office last month. Crossings fell even further during his first weeks in office, officials and aid groups say, as he closed the door to asylum seekers and ordered deportations and a sweeping crackdown inside the country. In South Texas, shelters that held dozens of migrants just before Mr. Trump took office are now down to a few families. A shelter in McAllen said its population had fallen to about nine by the end of January, from 97 on Jan. 20. In San Antonio, a shelter run by Catholic Charities plans to shut its doors entirely because of a lack of new arrivals. Along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, about 150 miles west of San Antonio, Texas National Guard troops stood guard along the border near a stray dog on Inauguration Day. As the dog lazed in the dirt in Shelby Park, one guardsman ruminated about new missions to alleviate the boredom. Image A young migrant detained by Border Patrol agents near Sasabe, Ariz. Credit... Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.