By Corinne Murdock |
The president of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), Brandon Judd, says that President Joe Biden’s policies effectively forced their support of the border bill.
Judd told The Arizona Daily Independent that Biden’s State of the Union (SOTU) was a “slap in the face” that didn’t adequately acknowledge the border crisis. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) invited Judd as her guest to the SOTU, though Judd didn’t join her.
“The reason we support the border bill is because President Biden put us in a position where we have to accept anything,” said Judd.
The bill referenced by Judd was the $118 billion foreign aid bill — formed by Sinema alongside Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) — which contained marginal provisions for border security, with a majority set aside for Ukraine and other nations.
However, Judd commended Sinema’s advocacy for more border security in a press release issued by Sinema ahead of the SOTU.
“[Sinema] has advocated for border security in all forms whether it be at the Ports of Entry or between. She has listened to the voices of the people doing their best to protect this great nation,” said Judd.
Sinema announced earlier this week that she wouldn’t be seeking reelection. The development wasn’t all too surprising, given that she had failed to file her statement of interest to run.
Another representative of the border crisis, president of an NBPC local in New York and agent Brandon Budlong, was invited to the SOTU.
Budlong said in a House GOP video series critiquing the Biden administration that border agents are unable to do what “they’re meant to do,” turning away illegal immigrants, and instead “streamlining millions” of illegal immigrants into the country.
“Hearing the news about Laken Riley’s death was extremely frustrating for me,” said Budlong. “It makes you almost feel like you failed at your job, even though you did everything that you could with the policies in place. This administration created this crisis and they can fix it, but they refuse to do so.”
Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student murdered during her morning jog on the University of Georgia campus last month. The accused murderer, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, came to the U.S. illegally from Venezuela in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas. Ibarra received parole due to ICE’s inability to lodge a detainer in a timely manner, effectively benefitting from the catch and release that many other illegal immigrants have enjoyed throughout the Biden administration.
In his short stint in the U.S., Ibarra was arrested in New York last September for acting in a manner to injure a minor and a driving license violation. Ibarra had been living in a taxpayer-funded shelter. Ibarra left the state shortly after his NYC arrest for Georgia.
The New York Post reported on Friday that Ibarra was permitted entry despite documented ties to Teen de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan gang operating in New York and Georgia, as well as Texas, Illinois, and Florida. The Post discovered that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) internal documents had Ibarra’s name listed as belonging to TdA.
In a motion filed earlier this week, federal authorities alleged that Ibarra’s brother, Diego, has ties to the same gang.
Diego was arrested shortly after his brother for possession of a fake green card; he had cut off an ankle monitor to evade authorities. Diego also had an arrest record. He was arrested three times by Athens, Georgia law enforcement for a DUI and driving without a license, shoplifting, and failure to appear in court.
The House passed the Laken Riley Act, an immigration bill requiring federal detention of migrants charged with burglary or theft, on Thursday.
Riley did receive a mention by Biden during his SOTU, though only after an outburst during his speech by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) demanded that Biden “say her name.” Biden did say Riley’s name, though he mispronounced it as “Lincoln Riley.” The president then downplayed her death by contrasting it with the number of other deaths that occur every day under illegal immigrants.
“Lincoln — Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” said Biden. “That’s right, but how many of the thousands of people [are] being killed by illegals?”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
