GOP presidential candidate and frontrunner Donald Trump spoke exclusively with Breitbart Texas on the most recent far left attacks against the organization representing over 80 percent of the Border Patrol agents who protect U.S. borders. The group, the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), gave their first-ever endorsement during a presidential primary to Trump and now far left efforts are under way to have the group excommunicated and to end their affiliation with a larger union organization.
Trump told Breitbart Texas, “I will always have the backs of the Border Patrol agents who protect America. I know they will never be intimidated by any bullies trying to push them out of the AFL-CIO, and I will never back down from supporting them and fighting for them every day. Together, we will end illegal immigration and save America.”
A prominent extreme open borders group, Not1More, began an effort to smear Border Patrol agents and get them booted from their association with the AFL-CIO, as Breitbart Texas reported.
The NBPC has presented a unique challenge to the groups promoting a secured border, largely due to border security advocates having a tendency to be anti-union. That said, anti-union right-of-center groups would have no information to support their efforts for border security were it not for the efforts of the largely conservative NBPC.
The NBPC presents the only mechanism for rank and file Border Patrol agents to have a voice, defend themselves against political interests, and to challenge false information presented to lawmakers and to the American public from politically-appointed bureaucrats — both in the Border Patrol agency and in the parent agency, Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Over 80 percent of the Border Patrol agents who actually patrol U.S. borders are voluntary members of the NBPC, a stat almost unheard of for a federal employees union.
The agents have been largely shut out from any discussions setting U.S. border security policy and how a lack of immigration law enforcement affects the task of securing the borders of the U.S. Trump shocked the world recently when his senior policy advisor, Stephen Miller, publicly declared that Trump’s border security policy would have the actual Border patrol agents in the NBPC at the head of the table for any policy discussions pertaining to the border. He also publicly declared that the agents would have a direct line into the White House under a Trump presidency.
The Trump campaign declarations were revolutionary in the realm of border security in that they gave the largest possible platform to U.S. Border Patrol agents and their defenders in the NBPC — one that virtually prevents Trump from backing out on border security promises in the future without ensuring extreme public ridicule. The Border Patrol agents were, in fact, handed the position of holding him accountable if Trump doesn’t implement the policies the agents need.
The agents in the NBPC later responded to Trump’s declaration of support for them by endorsing him and releasing this statement:
March 30, 2016
The National Border Patrol Council is the official organization representing our nation’s Border Patrol Agents. We represent 16,500 agents who selflessly serve this country in an environment where our own political leaders try to keep us from doing our jobs.
The NBPC has had a longstanding practice of not endorsing presidential candidates in the primaries. We will not, however, shy away from voicing our opinions as it pertains to border security and the men and women of the United States Border Patrol. As such, we are breaking with our past practice and giving our first-ever endorsement in a presidential primary. We think it is that important: if we do not secure our borders, American communities will continue to suffer at the hands of gangs, cartels and violent criminals preying on the innocent. The lives and security of the American people are at stake, and the National Border Patrol Council will not sit on the sidelines.
As an organization we expect our elected officials to aggressively pursue the interests of the country. America has already tried a young, articulate freshman senator who never created a job as an attorney and under whose watch criminal cartels have been given the freest border reign ever known.
Unlike his opponents, Donald Trump is not a career politician, he is an outsider who has created thousands of jobs, pledged to bring about aggressive pro-American change, and who is completely independent of special interests. We don’t need a person who has the perfect Washington-approved tone, and certainly NOT another establishment politician in the W.H. Indeed, the fact that people are more upset about Mr. Trump’s tone than about the destruction wrought by open borders tells us everything we need to know about the corruption in Washington.
We need a person in the White House who doesn’t fear the media, who doesn’t embrace political correctness, who doesn’t need the money, who is familiar with success, who won’t bow to foreign dictators, who is pro-military and values law enforcement, and who is angry for America and NOT subservient to the interests of other nations. Donald Trump is such a man.
Mr. Trump is as bold and outspoken as other world leaders who put their country’s interests ahead of all else. Americans deserve to benefit for once instead of always paying and apologizing. Our current political establishment has bled this country dry, sees their power evaporating, and isn’t listening to voters who do all the heavy lifting. Trump is opposed by the established powers specifically because they know he is the only candidate who actually threatens the established powers that have betrayed this country.
You can judge a man by his opponents: all the people responsible for the problems plaguing America today are opposing Mr. Trump. It is those without political power – the workers, the law enforcement officers, the everyday families and community members – who are supporting Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump will take on special interests and embrace the ideas of rank-and-file Border Patrol agents rather than listening to the management yes-men who say whatever they are programmed to say. This is a refreshing change that we have not seen before – and may never see again.
Mr. Trump is correct when he says immigration wouldn’t be at the forefront of this presidential campaign if months ago he hadn’t made some bold and necessary statements. And when the withering media storm ensued he did not back down one iota. That tells you the measure of a man. When the so-called experts said he was too brash and outspoken, and that he would fade away, they were proven wrong. We are confident they will be proven wrong again in November when he becomes President of the United States.
There is no greater physical or economic threat to Americans today than our open border. And there is no greater political threat than the control of Washington by special interests. In view of these threats, the National Border Patrol Council endorses Donald J. Trump for President – and asks the American people to support Mr. Trump in his mission to finally secure the border of the United States of America, before it is too late.
Sincerely,
Brandon Judd
President
National Border Patrol Council
(Disclosure: Breitbart Texas sponsored the Green Line podcast for the NBPC in an effort to provide a platform for agents to inform the public about the realities on the border and what Border Patrol agents face. Director Brandon Darby received an award from the Laredo chapter of the NBPC for his work in helping to defend and bring a voice to Border Patrol agents. Breitbart News assisted in covering funeral costs for a slain Border Patrol agent previously. Darby and Breitbart senior management have directly stated and shown that helping to bring a voice to the expressed needs and interests of Border Patrol agents is a top priority–personally, individually and together through Breitbart News.)