The country’s largest union of border parol agents says the White House is offering a veiled picture of the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border that “does not come close” to reality.
The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), which represents approximately 18,000 agents, took to Twitter Saturday to praise the “few outstanding reporters” that consistently cover the ongoing struggle by agents to contain the migrant surge but said White House “propagandists” are dominating the narrative.
“The amount of media coverage you see of the border mayhem by a few outstanding reporters doesn’t come close to capturing the full extent of what’s really going on,” NBPC said. “Believe the propagandists in the WH or believe the agents who patrol the border 24/7 and see it firsthand.”
To them, the choice is simple: “Believe the propagandists or believe the facts.”
BIDEN HAS ABSOLUTELY ‘NO DESIRE’ TO ENFORCE THE LAW AT THE BORDER: REP. PAT FALLON
A U.S. Border Patrol agent checks for identification of immigrants as they wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico on December 30, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
In a series of tweets, NBPC called for Congress to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and said the migrant crisis is a “certified disaster” under his and President Biden’s management.
“Arrests up over last year again…but some in open border crowd would have you believe they’re ‘down 90% under Biden,’” the union continued in another tweet.
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-CO, left, confers with U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA, during a hearing on U.S. southern border security on Capitol Hill, February 01, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
U.S. Reps. Ken Buck, R-CO, left, and Darrell Issa, R-CA, question witnesses on Capitol Hill, February 01, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Then, sharing a tweet from Fox News’ Griff Jenkins, the NBPC said reporters who cover the migrant crisis may face criticism, but that does not make their reporting any less true.
“If someone reports the truth about what’s going on at the border, and is falsely attacked and labeled by radical morons to silence them, does it make what he or she reported less true?” the NBPC asked in another tweet.
MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER HIT 1,000,000 MARK FOR FY 2023, OUTPACING PRIOR YEAR: SOURCES
Migrant encounters at the southern border crossed the one million mark for Fiscal Year 2023, marking what multiple Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources told Fox News was an unprecedented pace for encounters.
As of Friday, the total migrant encounters at the border were at 1,008,217 for the fiscal year, which began in October.
This rate far surpasses that of FY2021, where there were more than 1.7 million encounters overall.
Immigrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico on December 30, 2022, in Yuma, Arizona. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
Immigrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico on December 30, 2022, in Yuma, Arizona. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
It is still well ahead of the FY2022 rate, which reached 839,819 by March 1 — well under the 1 million mark — and over 2.3 million overall.
Hitting one million so early in the year has some agents concerned numbers spike again over the spring, as warmer weather and more agreeable conditions make crossing the border more appealing.
“Agents know leadership throughout the agency and the administration will celebrate two months of lower numbers instead of acknowledging the daunting task of being tasked at the border with yet another historical and preventable situation,” an agent told Fox News.
President Biden has called on Congress to enact immigration reform to address border security and amnesty for millions of migrants already in the U.S.
“America’s border problems won’t be fixed until Congress acts. If we won’t pass my comprehensive immigration reform, at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border. And a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers,” Biden said in his State of the Union address.
The congressional battle for a potential immigration bill could be a long one as the Democrat-controlled Senate, and the Republican-majority in the House of Representatives will have to agree with the president.
AT ARIZONA BORDER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARS FROM OFFICIALS ON MASSIVE MIGRANT SURGE
Republican lawmakers visited the U.S. southern border earlier this week with Mayor Douglas Nicholls of Yuma, AZ, who praised the opportunity for those running the country to see the growing crisis firsthand.
Democratic lawmakers did not join on the trip and instead called it a “stunt.”
“Having the attention this week from Republican members of the Judiciary Committee was important that will start changing some minds and opening up some of the discussion,” the mayor said.
Nicholls noted a delegation of Democrats will be visiting “later this month or the next” where he hopes to provide them with similar information on the border.
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“That’s what it is about, educating people so that when they get into the decision-making mode they will see there are real issues that need to be addressed,” he added during an interview on Fox News Live.
The Biden administration, including Secretary Mayorkas, has claimed the southern border is under control and has mostly denied there being a crisis.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.