The Situation on the Ground: An Agent's View

I was asked to post this by a Border Patrol agent who wished to remain anonymous. I haven't seen much in the news from the actual agents on the border, so I was happy to add this to the national dialogue.  If you care about what is happening at the border, please read this. It is not intended to change your mind or your politics. It is just meant to give you a more complete understanding of a complex situation that is often over-simplified by politicians and journalists. 

The Situation on the Ground: An Agent's View

I am proud of who I am and what I do. I am a man of faith. I am a proud parent of the most beautiful children. I am a proud husband who did the impossible of convincing the most amazing woman in the world to marry me. I’m proud of my career. I’m a proud Border Patrol Agent of the United States.

I waited four years for the Border Patrol to call me. I endured patiently, pushing through doubt and ridicule, waiting for my chance. I finally got the call, and after months of hard work, studying, and dedication I was handed a badge labeling me as a member of an elite group of people who would stand tall against the wolf at the door. I am proud of who I am.

Over the past week, there have been a number of items in the news directly connected to who I am as an agent. All of it stems from a decision to uphold the law that I took an oath I would protect. These reports by news outlets and other forms of media have compared me to some of the most horrific people in modern history. Agents have even been compared to Nazis and terrorists .

I had family members and friends messaging me to find out why I would do such horrible things. people asked my wife why she would allow such a monster around her kids. And we weren’t the only ones receiving these calls. Another agent’s mother-in-law called to tell his wife she didn’t want her grandchildren raised by someone that was so full of hate.

I decided to watch some of these reports myself to see what was being said.

I heard people stating half truths, misinformation, leaving facts out and flat out lying. I could understand why people were so angry when this was all they saw. I watched an anchor and top advisor tell an agent who was the son of immigrants that he had NO idea what was really going on. Really!? A person who sees what’s happening everyday and has watched his parents go through the process of earning citizenship has no idea what is happening!?

Who were these people on their high horses to tell us agents we didn’t know what was going on? Had these people given the last of their water, after hiking 5 hours alone, to aliens they found in the mountains abandoned by their coyote? Had these people rescued anybody in the desert? Because my current count is eight people rescued, and I know agents that have rescued many more then just eight. 

Had these people ever rushed to the aid of someone who has fallen from the fence and broken their legs because the smugglers dropped the rope at the first sign of danger? I have. 

Have these people found 30 children wandering in the desert abandoned in hopes someone would find them before they died from dehydration? I have. 

Have these people watched as a woman tried to climb over the 18 foot tall fence with a baby tied to her waist with a blanket? Have they watched in horror and rushed over to catch the child as the blanket came undone? I have. 

Have these people chased down a “coyote” who just abandoned women and children after taking their money with a promise of deliverance they never intended to keep? I have. 

Have these people made paper planes and found toys for these children handed over to the criminal human smuggling organizations to travel across multiple countries and thousands of miles without their parents? I have. 

Have these people seen the criminal history of these smugglers? I have, they are no Harriet Tubman and this is no Underground Railroad. 

Have these people found criminals convicted of the worst crimes hiding among these children? I have. 

Have these people had fist size rocks thrown at them while working? I have. 

Have these “experts” driven home worried that the person that escaped detection could be an evil person waiting to do harm to someone? That someone will get that phone call saying their child isn’t coming home due to someone not being stopped at the border when they should have been? I have, because I’ve found some of those very people trying to illegally enter into this country. 

Have these people stopped over $1,000,000 worth of poison from reaching our streets and our schools? I have. 

Do these people stand actively protecting people against an evil many pretend doesn’t exist? I do. I have seen that evil and I will not stand by while I have strength to fight it.

I recall a night during the previous administration’s time where myself and other agents were literally catching children being dropped by smugglers from the top of our 18 foot tall border fence. I went home that night arriving hours after everyone in the house had gone to bed. I went and held my little girl as she  slept. I just held her thinking about those kids and their poor families. With tears in my eyes I prayed for them. I prayed for those children and their families. I was grateful that the men and women in green were there to protect these children. Where, even with the limited resources we have to take care of them, (those same temporary facilities that people compare to concentration camps in Nazi Germany), we could offer them the first safe place these children could lay their heads. The first place the children weren’t worried about being molested by their smugglers. The first place they could sleep in peace with a full stomach. The first place they could sleep on a mat, warm and dry.

I chose to become an agent because of the people I had grown to love. While my friends went to college, I spent two years serving communities in the south side of Chicago. I fell in love with the culture and people of Central and South America. I learned their language. I ate in their homes, played fútbol in the street with them and learned about their rich heritage. I also saw something else while there: violence. Violence that tore families apart.

Gang bangers were killing anyone who threatened their turf. Turf that was used to sell their poison to the people I had developed such a love for. I remember standing around the body of a four year old gunned down by a gang member in broad daylight. All to make money. I realized something while watching these atrocities. A lot of those drugs being sold and killed for, were being smuggled across my home state.

When I returned home after my time was over, I couldn’t just move on with what I knew, with what I had seen. I decided to become a Border Patrol Agent. It was the one thing I could think of to protect the families I loved in Chicago. I called many of those same friends and asked what they would think of me. I was surprised when they were supportive and grateful.

They knew the caliber of man I was and was happy to know that I would willingly stand up to the drug smugglers in an effort to protect their neighborhoods. They knew that in the course of my duties I would come across many immigrants who had illegally entered into the US. It brought them comfort knowing that people like me would be the ones arresting those individuals. Someone who would treat them with respect and care knowing this is someone’s son, father, brother, mother, and so on. And during the hiring process I was pleasantly surprised that empathy was a required condition to be hired as a Border Patrol Agent. The service/agency was looking for people who would treat everyone with respect and humanity, but able to bring justice to those who would violate our laws.

It is these same men and women who have been accused of breaking up families over the last couple of months. There is some merit to that claim. When the parents arrive and are charged with crossing the border illegally we are required by law that children be taken to a more appropriate holding facility. We would love to keep the families together. None of us woke up in the morning thinking, “Let’s go take kids away from their parents.” As we support the move to enforce the law, closing a loophole we’ve seen abused over and over again, we continually ask and pressure congress to change the laws to protect the innocent caught up in the situation. And for our efforts we have been painted as heartless villains.

I have personally never separated any immigrant families and I’m very grateful for that. I can only imagine how it weighs on the other agents that have to do this. But they must because if they don’t, people will continue abusing the system, preventing us from helping those that actually need it.

Now, for those people that have said very nasty things about those I’m proud to serve with, let me tell you how you’re ripping families apart. After watching your stories and coverage of the situation, I was appalled at how often I could say, “That’s a lie.” In some cases you would later report that what was said was indeed false, but the damage was already done.

Shame on you! Shame to the lies, the doctored pictures, the audio recordings taken out of context, all pushed to gain viewers and money! You spread lies about the very people that put their lives on the line to protect your freedom and safety. You poisoned the minds of our families and friends. You created, with your lies, a rift of hatred and broken trust between mothers and sons, brothers and sisters, grandparents and grandchildren. These relationships will not be easily fixed.

I will continue to defend this country as I have sworn to do! I will stand ready to protect those I love. And believe it or not, I love you. I’m mad, yes. But I still love you and I hope you can learn to love us as well. I will stand against the evil and the storms on your behalf. I don’t need your approval or recognition. I know the cost and I will gladly pay it! I love this country and everyone in it! As you sleep peacefully, know that I stand against the wolves who try to enter. That you can sleep like you do because I am ready to do violence on your behalf. I will also serve as a humanitarian rescuing people that would die if not for men and women like me.

That is the situation on the ground. You may not feel that we know what’s really happening, but you would be wrong.

May God Bless America