Former US President Donald Trump proposed hiring 10,000 additional Border Patrol agents and giving them a $10,000 hiring bonus, a measure that would first have to go through Congress.
Former US President Donald Trump on Sunday promised to hire 10,000 additional border patrol agents if he is re-elected president, as he intensifies his attacks on Kamala Harris on the issue of immigration.
The Republican presidential candidate said he would meet the goal by asking the US Congress to fund a 10% pay increase for border patrol agents and a $10,000 recruitment and retention bonus, at a rally in the border state of Arizona. , an electoral battlefield.
Trump has made illegal immigration the center of his campaign, blaming Vice President Kamala Harris — his Democratic rival — for a record increase in unauthorized border crossings with Mexico. He frequently denounces people who enter the country illegally, calling them invaders and criminals, and has pledged to implement the largest deportation operation in American history if he is elected again.
Flanked on stage by leaders of the Border Patrol union, who have endorsed Trump, the former president said: “This will ensure that we can hire and keep the Border Patrol agents we need.”
Trump and his allies often call Harris the “person in charge of enforcing border policies,” even though she never held that title. President Joe Biden did ask Harris at the beginning of his government to study the “root causes” of migration from Central America.
“If we let Harris — the one in charge of enforcing border policies — win this election, every city, every community in this great country is going to go to hell,” union president Paul Perez said while standing next to Trump on stage. accompanied by a group of agents.
Harris campaign spokesman Matt Corridoni referred to Trump's maneuver against the border bill and his promises that Mexico would pay for the wall he built on the border, which was ultimately funded by the US federal government. .
“Trump doesn't care about solving problems, he just wants to run based on one,” Corridoni said in a statement.
Trump has pledged to finish the southern border wall if he returns to the White House. He often touts his comparatively low numbers of border crossings compared to what Biden recorded in his first three years in office, which are much higher, although crossings have now fallen back to levels similar to or below those seen during the majority. part of the Trump period.
During the Trump administration, the country also faced difficulties in reducing border crossings before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of international borders. During his tenure, Border Patrol agents separated immigrant children from their parents, one of several surveillance programs the Trump administration implemented to control illegal immigration.
Trump is locked in a tight race with Democratic Vice President Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Illegal immigration is a top voter concern, and Trump is seen by most voters as the person best able to address it, according to opinion polls.
(With information from AP and Reuters)