Border Patrol morale strong despite agitators and backlash, union chief says

National Border Patrol Council Chairman Paul Perez told Fox News Digital that despite heavy criticism from the media and Democrats and the constant presence of agitators, officer morale remains high and there is “no shortage of volunteers” to assist with deportation operations.

Perez told Fox News Digital during an interview that union members understand the threat criminal illegal immigrants pose to the entire nation after four years under the Biden administration, even though “the majority of our agents are stationed on the southwest border.”

““Unfortunately, you’re shooting arrows at the map, and it’s very possible that some of the people that Biden let in will be there,” he explained.

Although different from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, who are primarily responsible for in-country transfer operations, there is no “shortage” of volunteers for operations in cities across the country, including Minneapolis, Portland and Los Angeles, Perez said.

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““We have a lot of agents who are willing to go out there and help because they see the challenges that our ICE officers and other law enforcement partners face and they want to be there to help,” he explained. “They’re very well trained, they’re very motivated, they’re patriotic, and they want to do their job to secure the border and help keep America safe.”

Perez said “there are very few accurate records that we can rely on” because the Biden administration wants the flow of immigrants entering the country to be processed quickly.

“Too many people were brought in, millions of people, and they were scattered all over the United States,” he said, adding: “Most of these people did not need to provide information that we could review because the administration wanted them out as soon as possible.”

Although Border Patrol agents find themselves deployed to communities far from home, they approach operations with the same ethics, Perez said. At the same time, he said the harsh criticism of some had some impact on officers in his union.

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Border Patrol agents are at the southern border. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images)

“Rhetoric from the left is impacting our families because of protesters who think it’s okay because personal information is being disclosed and politicians are asking them to protest. They see what they’re doing as agitators and they keep raising the bar and saying, ‘Hey, go after these ICE officers, intervene, obstruct them,’ and there are consequences,” he said.

Despite this, Perez said Border Patrol agents are as determined as ever and “will not back down.”

Despite the backlash from protesters, media and politicians, he said Border Patrol officers in his union feel “we have more support now than ever before” thanks to the administration.

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Border Patrol agents in Minnesota. (Brendan Gutenschwager via Storyful)

“From a humanitarian perspective, we know the kind of people we encounter, and we don’t want them in America’s cities and communities because we know the damage they can cause,” he explained. “We have so many murderers, rapists, thieves and robbers and we want to get them out of our country.”

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“Our Border Patrol agents live in the communities they serve, the communities they patrol and the communities they protect. So when we go to other municipalities around the country, we take that into account because that’s someone else’s home, this is someone’s city and we want them to be safe.”