Border Patrol Union Endorses Trump During Arizona Trip

Border Patrol Union Endorses Trump During Arizona Trip

By Daniel Stefanski |

Former President Donald J. Trump picked up a significant endorsement while campaigning in the Grand Canyon State earlier this week.

On Sunday, President Trump appeared in front of thousands at a rally in Prescott Valley, where he was endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) for his bid for the White House.

At the event, Paul Perez, NBPC’s President, said, “If we allow border czar Harris to win this election, every city, every community in this great country is going to hell. The untold millions of people unvetted, who she has allowed into this country that are committing murders, rapes, robberies, burglaries and every other crime will continue to put our country in peril.”

Perez added, “Only one man can fix that. That is Donald J. Trump. He has always stood with the men and women who protect this border, who put their lives on the line for the country.”

Art Del Cueto, the Vice President of the NBPC, stated, “Zero question as to who should lead this country. The time to save America is NOW!!”

State Senator Janae Shamp, one of the top border hawks of the Arizona Legislature, responded to the announcement, posting, “They know exactly what is at stake and who can fix it! God bless each and everyone of these men and women for standing for all Americans!”

The endorsement from the NBPC was reported as unanimous for the 45th President of the United States.

According to a press release from the Trump-Vance campaign, Trump promised to “hire 10,000 new Border Patrol agents and ask Congress to immediately approve a 10% raise for all agents, and a $10,000 retention and signing bonus.”

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Abe Hamadeh Gains Key Endorsement From National Border Patrol Council

Abe Hamadeh Gains Key Endorsement From National Border Patrol Council

By Matthew Holloway |

Republican Congressional candidate for Arizona’s 8th District Abe Hamadeh received a key endorsement on Friday from the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC).

Hamadeh, a former candidate for Arizona Attorney General, was already endorsed by President Donald Trump in July alongside his primary opponent Blake Masters in a rare ‘twofer’ endorsement.

NBPC President Paul Perez wrote in an announcement posted on X, “The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) @bpunion proudly endorses Abe Hamadeh in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Abe has dedicated his life to serving this great nation, ensuring our security and upholding the rule of law. He truly understands what is happening along our borders and what the men and women of the NBPC experience each and every day. We know Abe and we know that he will be a tireless advocate for border security, public safety and restoring law and order. Join us in supporting Abe Hamadeh for Congress and make our borders secure again.”

In a recent interview with Fox News, Hamadeh readily laid the crisis at the border—and resultant flood of illegal immigrants and subsequent crime—at the feet of Vice President Kamala Harris and the “radical” immigration policies enacted by the Biden-Harris administration. He particularly pointed to the role it has played in Maricopa County’s increasing gang violence.

“The border is the number one issue for everybody,” Hamadeh told the outlet.

“Every time I’m in my district, it’s the number one issue people talk about because they see the effects of the border crisis every single day, and we’ve had nighttime burglary, robberies happening in Arizona, in Maricopa County, particularly, these Chilean, illegal immigrants from Chile, this Chilean gang that were breaking into people’s homes.”

He explained, “So you’re starting to see it’s not just crime on the streets, in the inner cities, but now it’s going into the sort of suburbs and that’s why the border, everywhere I go, it’s the number one issue.”

The gangs Hamadeh refers to, described in the media as “tourist burglars” or “dinnertime thieves,” have run amok nearly unchecked across a sprawling stretch from Peoria to Paradise Valley, Gilbert and Chandler. He pinned the source of the ongoing wave of crime directly to Harris discussing her immigration policy. He told Fox, “Everybody knows it’s a joke. We can’t escape the commercials that are on constantly. She’s walking on our southern border with Trump’s border wall, which we all know she opposed. She’s the most radical person ever to run for president.”

“Everybody who’s law enforcement, Border Patrol, anybody who knows what’s going on is supporting President Trump because Kamala Harris is in a position of power and has done nothing about it. So we all know that this is her attempt at trying to just, you know, get votes. But we know that the radical left is adamant about keeping our border open, and it’s creating a national security risk.”

As a former military intelligence office in the U.S. Army, Hamadeh was able to draw on his experience to draw attention to the national security risk the lax border security presents in his district.

“In my district, particularly, you know, we have all these Taiwanese companies moving into my district for the microchip industry, it’s 50 to $100 billion. That’s creating a national security risk,” he told Fox. “It’s great for economic development, but we have an open border, and you’ve got 30,000 Communist Chinese who have crossed our southern border last year. Unvetted. That’s a prime intelligence target.”

He warned, “We’re putting a target right now here in Arizona for some of these foreign adversaries to take advantage of. Just last week, we discovered that Iran or somebody may have snuck through ten shoulder-fired missiles possibly. I mean, we’re talking about the United States. How are we not securing our border? It seems like the easiest concept for everybody to understand and that’s where, in my district, that’s why it is the number one issue, and Kamala Harris is failing at it, and that’s why she’s going to lose the election.”

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.

President Of National Border Patrol Council Announces Retirement

President Of National Border Patrol Council Announces Retirement

By Daniel Stefanski |

A surprising change is coming at the top of the nation’s Border Patrol union.

Late last week, the National Border Patrol Council announced that its president, Brandon Judd, would be retiring on May 18. The union stated that Judd had “tirelessly served our members in the U.S. Border Patrol for many years, and we are excited that he is looking forward to pursuing future interests. We thank him for his service and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Karrin Taylor Robson, a former contender for the Republican nomination for Arizona Governor in 2022, recognized the retiring union president, writing, “Brandon Judd’s service as President of the Border Patrol Union extended well beyond the Council’s membership; his service benefited EVERY American. Thank you, Brandon, for your staunch advocacy for border policies that make every American safer. Your leadership will be missed.”

Art Del Cueto, the Vice President of the NBPC, weighed in on his colleague’s imminent departure. He said, “Well, the news is out. It saddens me but I look forward to seeing all the other things my friend and brother can accomplish. I’ve been side-by-side with him in the trenches for many years, and I truly don’t even have the words to make everyone understand all the sacrifices that he has made. His accomplishments speak for themselves. Agents are blessed to have many privileges because of the hard work Brandon Judd has done throughout the years. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have learned so much from him, not just from a work standpoint but from a life and faith in GOD perspective. I could go on and on with so much more, but I’ll save it for the book. THANK YOU my brother.”

Ali Bradley, a Network Correspondent for NewsNation reported that “NBPC Executive VP Paul Perez will fill the remainder of Brandon’s term which was set to end in March of 2026.”

Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Border Patrol Union Criticizes Chief For Omitting Number of Escaped, Released Illegals

Border Patrol Union Criticizes Chief For Omitting Number of Escaped, Released Illegals

By Corinne Murdock |

The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) criticized Border Patrol (BP) Chief Raul Ortiz for presenting a limited set of immigration enforcement data over this past holiday weekend.

The NBPC suggested that Ortiz release the numbers of illegal immigrants who were caught and released, crossed undetected, and escaped. Ortiz only presented the total number of encounters, sex offenders and felons arrested, smuggling events intercepted, and drugs seized.

Ortiz issues those types of data sets regularly, and normally doesn’t include the data that NBPC suggested.

Ortiz has been critical of the Biden administration’s border policies. In late July, Ortiz testified during a deposition of a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that illegal immigrants faced no consequences and were even confident that they would be allowed into the country even if caught.

Ortiz agreed that the current state of the border constitutes a crisis. Throughout the deposition, Ortiz ignored objections from the Biden administration’s counsel, instead choosing to answer questions posed to him by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. 

In late August, NBPC highlighted Ortiz’s refusal to withhold the truth during his deposition. They compared the Biden administration to Barney Fife, a slang term for ineptitude and incompetence. 

Last month, President Joe Biden set the all-time record for illegal immigrant encounters in one presidency: over 2.1 million in one fiscal year, and over 3.6 million since he took office. Former President Trump had about 2.4 million encounters over the span of his four years. With the number of September encounters still pending as of press time, there’s a chance that Biden may match or exceed Trump’s four-year total in just one year. 

If border encounters under Biden continue at the present average rate of over 183,300 a month, there will be over 8.6 million border encounters by the end of his term. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Ducey, Border Patrol Criticize Biden Admin For Denying That Migrants Walk Into U.S.

Ducey, Border Patrol Criticize Biden Admin For Denying That Migrants Walk Into U.S.

By Corinne Murdock |

The White House’s denial that migrants are walking across the border sparked backlash from Governor Doug Ducey and Border Patrol (BP) leaders.

This week, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that illegal immigrants don’t merely walk across the southern border. Fox News reporter Peter Doocy had asked Jean-Pierre why the unvaccinated traveling by plane were refused admission into the U.S. while unvaccinated illegal immigrants could walk into the U.S. and stay. 

“It’s not like somebody walks over — that’s not how [it works],” responded Jean-Pierre. 

Jean-Pierre’s denial prompted Ducey to call the White House “clueless.” He stated that the Biden administration’s negligence further affirmed his decision to finish Yuma’s border wall himself. The state closed those gaps last week. 

“If only President Biden visited the border, he’d see the mass amount of migrants walking across the border,” wrote Ducey.

The denial prompted similar criticism from the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC). Jean-Pierre’s denial — along with discovery this week of BP Chief Raul Ortiz’s admission in July that Biden’s border policies lacked consequences for illegal immigration — prompted NBPC to demean the Biden administration as the “Barney Fife” administration, a slang term for ineptitude and incompetence.

“[This administration is] importing millions of fraudulent ‘asylum’ seekers,” declared the NBPC. “This mess will take decades to clean up, if it can ever be cleaned up.”

Along with the historic number of illegal crossings, there have been historic highs of drug trafficking. Earlier this month, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reported that fentanyl, meth, and heroin seizures increased greatly from June to July.

As AZ Free News reported at the beginning of this month, hard drugs have largely replaced marijuana for drug smugglers. The main substance seized by far is fentanyl. 

What’s more, smugglers are now disguising fentanyl with rainbow coloring to look like candy or ecstasy, dubbed “rainbow fentanyl.”  On Tuesday, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued an official warning that the rainbow fentanyl has been discovered in 18 states. Officials warned that drug traffickers are targeting children and young adults with the rainbow fentanyl to spark addiction.

It appears that the White House isn’t the only leadership sector apparently unconcerned with the state of the border. A source informed the Daily Caller on Monday that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was vacationing in Maine. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.