Based on newly discovered emails, Department of Homeland Security officials characterized a January session with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as “tough,” with agents warning Mayorkas that procedures “aren’t performing.”
Emails Released
The emails, discovered by the Oversight Project of the Heritage Foundation and released to Fox News, depict discussions between DHS officials, following Mayorkas’s trip to a Border Patrol morning inspection in Yuma, Arizona.
In an email dated January 26, Marsha Espinosa, assistant secretary of public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, states, “Morning inspection in Yuma was ROUGH.”
“One officer in the primary town had his back turned to Mayorkas the entire way, turning back just to ask questions.
Espinosa continued by stating officers were dissatisfied with the administration’s border rules and COVID-19 regulations, which stipulated a vaccination requirement and the usage of masks.
She stated Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz defended the secretary against fire.
Internal DHS emails describe ‘rough’ meeting between Mayorkas, Border Patrol agentshttps://t.co/MzxiTLAVv0
— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) November 2, 2022
The emails provide a peek of the internal aftermath of the encounter, which Fox News and many others characterized, at the moment, as a glimpse of strained relations between the green-clad individuals and the head of DHS.
A recording of the conversation was obtained by Townhall, wherein agents pressed Mayorkas on the inability of agents to police the border underneath the Biden administration.
Someone else allegedly stated Yuma was easier under President Trump because “everyone here was doing their duties.”
The emails demonstrate how authorities noticed Mayorkas’s remark that the government was broadening Title 42 to three other countries that had not yet been disclosed.
It also reveals officials discussing and revising draft responses in response to inquiries from Reuters and Fox News regarding the Townhall article.
I live here. Theres nothing safe or secure about this border. The cartels operate on both side w impunity!!!
Internal DHS emails describe ‘rough’ meeting between Mayorkas, Border Patrol agentshttps://t.co/IttV06MdTp— jannyleigh (@Jannyleigh63) November 2, 2022
The purpose of the visit was to interact with and seek clarification from employees, according to the spokeswoman.
Border Patrol agents’ enthusiasm has remained a problem as a result of an ongoing situation at the southern border. This is a very real problem that many Americans tend to blame on the Biden administration’s policies.
More than 2.3 million migrants were encountered in Fiscal Year 2022, including more than 227,000 just in September alone. This 2.3 million figure represents an increase from the higher than 1.7 million seen in FY 2021.
DHS secretary Mayorkas would later describe his experiences to Ortiz in a recorded conversation, stating he “truly appreciated the agents’ candor in expressing their opinions.”
Unhappy Border Agents
“A bunch of guys may have addressed them in an unprofessional manner, which was unexpected to me since it’s something I’ve never witnessed in my eight years of person-to-person contact with the Border Patrol,” he stated after the fact.
“However, the content of what was stated demanded action and we’re responding accordingly — but we have a significant amount of work to do,” he concluded.
This article appeared in Conservative Cardinal and has been published here with permission.
