Border Patrol union chief Brandon Judd getting royal Trump treatment

by Daniel Chaitin | Jan 27, 2018, 9:26 AM

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National Border Patrol Council chief Brandon Judd was praised by President Trump on Saturday morning for his advocacy of increased border security. Judd will be attending the State of the Union as the guest of Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and will also get to meet Trump in person. (Screenshot)

With immigration reform front and center this month, a Border Patrol union chief who has been a vocal force advocating improved border security is getting a nod from President Trump.

Tweeting Saturday morning, President Trump recognized National Border Patrol Council chief Brandon Judd for his "strong" support of his proposal that would secure funding for a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Thank you to Brandon Judd of the National Border Patrol Council for his strong statement on @foxandfriends that we very badly NEED THE WALL. Must also end loophole of “catch & release” and clean up the legal and other procedures at the border NOW for Safety & Security reasons.
3:55 AM - Jan 27, 2018


The president is an avid fan of "Fox & Friends," and was reacting to a short interview Judd did earlier in the morning. Asked if the Democrats' concerns that a wall would not secure the border, Judd could not disagree more.

"They are absolutely incorrect. All you have to do is look at history," Judd replied. "Where we built physical barriers, it's dropped the number of illegal entries exponentially. They are absolutely wrong."

Judd also praised Trump's "brilliance" as a businessman, defended Trump's push to prune legal immigration, and explained that the amount of money Trump has requested for the wall and Homeland Security resources and personnel, including judges, is more than sufficient.

The White House revealed last week details of its proposal to protect "Dreamers" – a sticking point for Democrats and some Republicans – in exchange for shoring up border security. The plan would also reduce legal immigration due to changes to the lottery program and new limits on family-based legal immigration.

Judd, a 20-year veteran of the Border Patrol whose union represents about 18,000 Border Patrol agents and their support personnel who operate on the northern and southern borders, has recently testified before Congress and has repeatedly gone on TV to advocate stronger border security measures supported by Republican lawmakers as well as some Democrats who have been reticent to cooperate with Trump.

His efforts have secured him an opportunity to see Trump in person on Tuesday, when the president delivers his State of the Union address. Judd will be the invited guest of Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana, who heaped praise on the Montana native.

"Brandon Judd has been on the front line securing our border and keeping Montanans safe," Tester said in a press release. "He is a Montana boy who climbed the ranks from an agent on our northern border to the very top of the National Border Patrol Council. Brandon's input will play a critical role as we work towards a tough, bipartisan solution to a stronger border."

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/bo...rticle/2647288

CATCH THEM AT THE BORDER AND RELEASE THEM RIGHT BACK OVER THE BORDER!

NO DETENTION! BOOT THEM BACK OVER THE BORDER WITHIN 24 HOURS

IF THEY CAME THROUGH MEXICO...SEND THEM RIGHT BACK IN TO THE ARMS OF MEXICO!

ALL ILLEGALS NEED TO BE DEPORTED RIGHT BACK TO THE 1ST BORDER THEY ILLEGALLY CROSSED FROM AND ON DOWN THE LINE.

DUMP THEM BACK FOR THEM TO DEPORT AND THEN THESE COUNTRIES WILL STOP ALLOWING THEM THROUGH!

So now what is this? Is Donald (Judas) Trump trying to camouflage his craven betrayal on DACA by promoting this guy publicly? I am sure this border patrol agent is a good man trying to get the best deal he can from a hostile, treacherous bunch of political hacks. But I find it hypocritical for Judas Trump to be praising this guy when he intends to unleash a hoard of illegal aliens on our country. DACA is poison. This other immigration stuff, ultimately will do very little to undue the disaster DACA will become for our country. It will be irreversible and the Democrats will dominate our national politics forever. Every conservative victory and major politician will be swept away at the ballot box. Sorry Judas, I ain’t buying it. No DACA, No DACA, No DACA, get it through your thick narcissistic head – no DACA!

The least Trump can do is get government funding to teach Spanish to us Yankees so we can understand our new ruling class when they order us around.

What is President Trump talking about a loophole for "Catch and Release"? They said it had ended. Obama used bus transportation to cart illegal aliens around America to bring crime, drugs, poverty to our towns. President Trump has elevated their transportation mode to airplanes, all at taxpayer expense. Both presidents have infiltrated our states with non-English speaking individuals who burden all services, schools, healthcare facilities, jails. Citizens and states suffer.

Border Patrol agents are talking and things are not good. The border is a sieve and people are coming in droves.

Make the boot a nice fat size 14 male, hobnail boot. Better yet, football spikes. They don't speak English so explain it to them in a language they understand.

(About "Catch and Release.")


JUNE 6, 2017 / 8:10 AM
Despite Trump vow to end catch and release, he is still freeing thousands of migrants


Julia Edwards Ainsley

McAllen, Texas (Reuters) - Standing on the bluffs of Roma, Texas on a May afternoon two border patrol agents look out over the meandering Rio Grande River that separates Mexico from the United States and recall a time when the scene was far less tranquil.

Last fall, during the waning months of the Obama administration, hundreds of immigrants crossed the river on rafts at this point each day, many willingly handing themselves over to immigration authorities in hopes of being released into the United States to await court proceedings that would decide their fate.


Now, the agents look out on an empty landscape. Foot paths up from the water have started to disappear under growing brush, with only the stray baby shoe or toothbrush serving as reminders of that migrant flood.


The reason for the change, the agents say, is a perception in Mexico and Central America that President Donald Trump has ended the practice known as “catch-and-release,” in which immigrants caught in the United States without proper documents were released to live free, often for years, as their cases ran through the court system.


Now, would-be border violators know “they’ll be detained and then turned right back around,” said one of the two agents, Marlene Castro. “It’s not worth it anymore,” she said.


Castro was simply echoing her boss, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, who said on a visit to El Paso, Texas in April, “We have ended dangerous catch-and-release enforcement policies.”


But immigration attorneys, government statistics and even some officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which falls under Kelly, suggest that despite the DHS chief’s statement, there has been no clear change to the catch-and-release policy.


That’s in large part because there are legal constraints on who can be detained and for how long, due to a shortage of beds and a court ruling limiting the stay of women and children in custody to 21 days.


A separate court ruling limits detention time for immigrants whose countries refuse to repatriate them. And Kelly noted in a February memorandum that asylum seekers that have proven they have a “credible fear” of returning home could be candidates for release if they present “neither a security risk nor a risk of absconding.”


Daniel Bible, ICE field office director for Southern Texas, told Reuters he and his colleagues have not been issued new directions, and so continue to release illegal immigrants deemed to be low security risks, usually with notices to appear in court.



“We look at each case the same way we always have,” Bible said.


DHS spokeswoman Jenny Burke confirmed to Reuters that the agency has not issued new guidance for releasing migrants caught at the border.


Asked to explain why there had been no new guidance, given Kelly’s statement in April, Burke said, “ICE officers make custody determinations on a case-by-case basis, prioritizing detention resources.”

In a memo made public in February, Kelly defined catch and release as any policy that allows immigrants to be released from detention while they await their court hearings, making it easy to abscond. Ending catch and release was one of Trump’s central promises during the 2016 presidential campaign.


Some advocates who work with migrants say they have seen little change since Trump came into office.


“Sure, people are still being released,” said Kevin Appleby, senior director of international migration policy at the Center for Migration Studies. “Not because they believe in releasing them, but because there are not enough beds at the moment.”



Numbers Game


ICE declined to provide data on the number of migrants being released into the United States. But other ICE data not previously published and reviewed by Reuters shows the pool of people not in custody and awaiting court appearances is growing.


Since Trump took office in late January, the number of immigrants awaiting court proceedings while living freely in the United States has grown by nearly 30,000, rising by an average of about 7,500 per month, according to the ICE data.
During the last seven months of President Barack Obama’s presidency, the rolls of those awaiting legal proceedings outside of custody grew more rapidly, at an average of about 20,600 people per month.


Part of the slower rate under Trump can be traced to a 58 percent drop in apprehensions of people crossing the border.



Still, the numbers suggest the Trump administration is a long way from ending catch-and-release.


NumbersUSA, a Washington-based organization that supports limited immigration, praised the Trump administration’s tough talk and its chilling effect on illegal immigration.


“That impact will be temporary, though, unless the administration follows through by ending ‘catch and release’ for good,” it said.


The Trump administration though has come up against the reality that there simply is not enough space in detention centers.


Congress has funded about 34,000 beds to detain immigration violators, and the average daily population of detainees has been near or above capacity since before Trump took office.

One way the administration hopes to free up detention space is to decrease the time it takes to resolve cases.


The Justice Department has requested funding to hire an additional 125 immigration judges over the next two years, an increase of 50 percent.


In the meantime, some border officials hope would-be migrants remain nervous. When told that ICE detention centers are still releasing many immigrants to live in the United States, Castro and her border agent colleague, who declined to be named, exchanged a look and then shrugged.


“Don’t tell them that,” her colleague said.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN18X1G4

Does this mean the Border Patrol Union is formally supporting Trump's amnesty "framework"? If so, have they polled their members before taking this position?

And if so, have they read and scrutinized the (very ugly) details that would likely lead to very little or no effective wall being built (see Schumer's candid admission of this) -- and how this would lead to a surge in illegal immigration making their job much more difficult?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Motivated

Does this mean the Border Patrol Union is formally supporting Trump's amnesty "framework"? If so, have they polled their members before taking this position?

And if so, have they read and scrutinized the (very ugly) details that would likely lead to very little or no effective wall being built (see Schumer's candid admission of this) -- and how this would lead to a surge in illegal immigration making their job much more difficult?

---

Motivated, I dont think it means that. I hope not.

The Border Patrol was hopeful that when Donald Trump became president that things would change. Early on, after his election and with his strong rhetoric during the campaign against amnesty, chants of "build that wall", etc. things were changing. Many people believed him and were reluctant to come. But as time has gone on, with President Trump's big talk of amnesty and love, things have rapidly deteriorated and the numbers crossing are back to Obama levels. The Border Patrol has spoken out but they walk on eggshells.

I think President Trump tweeted to Brandon Judd to make himself look like he has Border Patrol support. Border agents talking to Dennis Michael are telling him what is really happening. Things are not great. Tens of thousands of people are crossing. President Trump and Obama are interchangeable as far as things getting done. President Trump wants to fly them to their new homes in America. We get to pay.

President Trump's inaction is going to add hundreds of thousands more illegal aliens coming here to get in on any amnesty if it occurs. They cannot process or deal with the numbers now. Take decades to go through them all.

Failure.

Brandon was one of the sources confirming that Trump is still flying illegal aliens around on commercial jets at taxpayer expense!

(The first post of the thread states that Brandon Judd was getting the royal treatment. The following story describes him getting the treatment but it wasn't royal. )


DHS May Terminate Border Patrol Union Chief for Reporting Corruption, Blasting Open Border Policies

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for reporting corruption and misconduct in agency management, including a disturbing order issued to officers directing them not to patrol a vulnerable stretch of the northern border with Canada. Judicial Watch has obtained government documents and interviewed numerous sources with direct knowledge of the situation, which appears retaliatory.



The ordeal began in mid-April when Judd, who heads the union that represents some 16,000 Border Patrol agents nationwide, denounced a directive to agents to purposely leave a 40-mile section of the Havre Sector in Montana unsecured. The Havre station covers approximately 108 miles of international border with Canada and much of it is sparsely populated. A conservative news outlet obtained a document from a Havre Sector Border Patrol manager ordering agents to leave 40 miles of Montana border open and unpatrolled. In an article, various Border Patrol agents blamed Obama-era policies and widespread corruption in the Havre Sector’s upper management. One agent said criminal cartels exploit border weaknesses daily so they’re certain to exploit such a large area of open and unpatrolled border.



The federal officers spoke on the condition that their identity be kept anonymous, clearly because they feared retaliation. However, Judd, a veteran Border Patrol agent, went on the record and now DHS is going after him. In the news story Judd revealed that in recent years the Havre sector has seen more complaints than any other sector. The union chief also criticized DHS Secretary John Kelly for endorsing Obama-era open border policies and condoning his predecessors’ (Janet Napolitano and Jeh Johnson) failures. Judd also said this in the article: “President Trump is the president of the common citizen and the choice of the rank-and-file Border Patrol Agents; unfortunately there are those highly paid career managers who want to believe they’re above everyone else — up to and including the President of the United States.”



Secretary Kelly’s DHS management team responded by launching an investigation into Judd, accusing him of “unauthorized disclosure of law enforcement information” in the news story referenced above. In a letter to the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Border Patrol Council’s legal division writes that nothing in the article qualified as law enforcement sensitive information, though such disclosures are protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) as well as the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA). The article did not specify the exact location of the 40 miles, whether the 40 miles was contiguous or even the Border Patrol station within the Havre Sector where the order was given, the letter states. “Based upon the law, DHS/OIG cannot legally sustain any allegation that Mr. Judd improperly disclosed law enforcement information,” the letter says. “Also, we understand that DHS/OIG is only the investigatory body responsible for gathering the facts and that any threatened or actual personnel action would be taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As a result, we are forwarding this memorandum to CBP as well as the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to ensure that no threatened or actual personnel action be taken against Mr. Judd.”



Originally, the agency watchdog launched a probe into allegations of corruption divulged by Judd in an electronic mail to Border Patrol Chief Ronald Vitiello and Associate Chief Rodolfo Karisch. In the email, titled “Allegation of Corruption,” Judd cited evidence he believed showed that an operations change at the Havre Sector was “due to either corruption, retaliation, or for political purposes.” Judd expressed concern for the safety of agents as well as the public and the DHS OIG launched a criminal investigation into Havre Sector management officials. At some point in the corruption probe of Havre Sector management, the watchdog initiated an administrative investigation into Judd for reasons that aren’t clear. Judicial Watch reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the 60,000-employee agency that encompasses the Border Patrol, but calls went unanswered. The administration’s official reason for going after Judd is the “unauthorized disclosure of law enforcement information.” In a documentobtained by Judicial Watch, the DHS OIG warns Judd that he may be subject to disciplinary action that includes termination.



https://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2...rder-policies/