National Border Patrol Council Endorses Trump for President

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by BRANDON DARBY & ILDEFONSO ORTIZ
30 Mar 2016
4,854 comments

In an official statement first obtained by Breitbart Texas, the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) endorsed Donald Trump for President of the United States. The unusually bold statement comes just days after a senior policy adviser for Trump made clear that future U.S. border security policy would be largely determined by the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol who are actual agents protecting the border and not by politically-appointed bureaucrats in the Border Patrol or its parent agency, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), if Trump is elected.

The endorsement is the first-ever in a presidential primary for the NBPC. The agents’ statement makes clear that Trump’s public pledge to secure the border by turning to the actual agents in the NBPC is revolutionary and an opportunity never-before-seen and one that may never be seen again. They wrote, “Mr. Trump will take on special interest and embrace the ideas of rank-and-file Border Patrol agents rather than listening to the management yes-men who say whatever they are programmed to say. This is a refreshing change that we have not seen before – and may never see again.”

The NBPC has been the only voice for nearly 17,000 Border Patrol agents. The organization has served as the only advocacy and defense mechanism for the needs and interests of agents against overwhelming attacks from political groups and special interests opposing a secured border.

The full statement from the NBPC:

March 30, 2016

The National Border Patrol Council is the official organization representing our nation’s Border Patrol Agents. We represent 16,500 agents who selflessly serve this country in an environment where our own political leaders try to keep us from doing our jobs.

The NBPC has had a longstanding practice of not endorsing presidential candidates in the primaries. We will not, however, shy away from voicing our opinions as it pertains to border security and the men and women of the United States Border Patrol. As such, we are breaking with our past practice and giving our first-ever endorsement in a presidential primary. We think it is that important: if we do not secure our borders, American communities will continue to suffer at the hands of gangs, cartels and violent criminals preying on the innocent. The lives and security of the American people are at stake, and the National Border Patrol Council will not sit on the sidelines.

As an organization we expect our elected officials to aggressively pursue the interests of the country. America has already tried a young, articulate freshman senator who never created a job as an attorney and under whose watch criminal cartels have been given the freest border reign ever known.

Unlike his opponents, Donald Trump is not a career politician, he is an outsider who has created thousands of jobs, pledged to bring about aggressive pro-American change, and who is completely independent of special interests. We don’t need a person who has the perfect Washington-approved tone, and certainly NOT another establishment politician in the W.H. Indeed, the fact that people are more upset about Mr. Trump’s tone than about the destruction wrought by open borders tells us everything we need to know about the corruption in Washington.

We need a person in the White House who doesn’t fear the media, who doesn’t embrace political correctness, who doesn’t need the money, who is familiar with success, who won’t bow to foreign dictators, who is pro-military and values law enforcement, and who is angry for America and NOT subservient to the interests of other nations. Donald Trump is such a man.

Mr. Trump is as bold and outspoken as other world leaders who put their country’s interests ahead of all else. Americans deserve to benefit for once instead of always paying and apologizing. Our current political establishment has bled this country dry, sees their power evaporating, and isn’t listening to voters who do all the heavy lifting. Trump is opposed by the established powers specifically because they know he is the only candidate who actually threatens the established powers that have betrayed this country.

You can judge a man by his opponents: all the people responsible for the problems plaguing America today are opposing Mr. Trump. It is those without political power – the workers, the law enforcement officers, the everyday families and community members – who are supporting Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump will take on special interests and embrace the ideas of rank-and-file Border Patrol agents rather than listening to the management yes-men who say whatever they are programmed to say. This is a refreshing change that we have not seen before – and may never see again.

Mr. Trump is correct when he says immigration wouldn’t be at the forefront of this presidential campaign if months ago he hadn’t made some bold and necessary statements. And when the withering media storm ensued he did not back down one iota. That tells you the measure of a man. When the so-called experts said he was too brash and outspoken, and that he would fade away, they were proven wrong. We are confident they will be proven wrong again in November when he becomes President of the United States.

There is no greater physical or economic threat to Americans today than our open border. And there is no greater political threat than the control of Washington by special interests. In view of these threats, the National Border Patrol Council endorses Donald J. Trump for President – and asks the American people to support Mr. Trump in his mission to finally secure the border of the United States of America, before it is too late.

Sincerely,

Brandon Judd
President
National Border Patrol Council

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...for-president/

by BOB PRICE
30 Mar 2016

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump responded to his endorsement from the National Border Patrol Council saying he will “never let them down.” Trump pledged he would make certain every Border Patrol agent had the resources, tools, and support they need to protect the United States and stop the influx of drugs, gangs, and cartel violence.

Trumps comments came after he received the endorsement of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) on Wednesday. Despite having a long-standing practice of not making political endorsements, NBPC President Brandon Judd said, “We will not, however, shy away from voicing our opinions as it pertains to border security and the men and women of the United States Border Patrol. As such, we are breaking with our past practice and giving our first-ever endorsement in a presidential primary.” His comments were reported by Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby, and Ildefonso Ortiz on Wednesday morning.

“Unlike his opponents,” Judd continued, “Donald Trump is not a career politician, he is an outsider who has created thousands of jobs, pledged to bring about aggressive pro-American change, and who is completely independent of special interests. We don’t need a person who has the perfect Washington-approved tone, and certainly NOT another establishment politician in the W.H. Indeed, the fact that people are more upset about Mr. Trump’s tone than about the destruction wrought by open borders tells us everything we need to know about the corruption in Washington.”

The endorsement by the NBPC came just days after a senior policy adviser for Trump made clear that future U.S. border security policy would be largely determined by the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol who are actual agents protecting the border and not by politically-appointed bureaucrats in the Border Patrol or its parent agency, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), if Trump is elected, Breitbart Texas reported.

Trump responded to the agents saying, “I am deeply grateful for this extraordinary and historic endorsement from America’s Border Patrol Agents, and especially honored that they would break with their past precedent of not endorsing in presidential primaries in order to endorse my candidacy. This endorsement represents a total rejection of the corrupt politicians who have allowed transnational gangs and cartels to terrorize American communities.”

Following is Trump’s entire statement:

“I am deeply grateful for this extraordinary and historic endorsement from America’s Border Patrol Agents, and especially honored that they would break with their past precedent of not endorsing in presidential primaries in order to endorse my candidacy. This endorsement represents a total rejection of the corrupt politicians who have allowed transnational gangs and cartels to terrorize American communities.

The National Border Patrol Council is the official body representing America’s front-line Border Patrol Agents who sacrifice every day, under intolerable political restraints, to keep America safe. America’s 16,500 border patrol agents represented by the NBPC are the first line of defense for our nation. The NBPC provides the vital outlet to learn the truth – not the political spin from bureaucrats – about what is really happening on our border. And the NBPC has been the one outlet these agents have to prevent their voice from being drowned out by big money special interests.

As President, I will work tirelessly with the NBPC and their rank-and-file agents to secure our border once and for all. I will ensure that every rank-and-file officer has the resources, tools and support they need to protect this nation and stop the influx of drugs, gangs and cartel violence. Together, we will save thousands of American lives, millions of American jobs, and billions of American tax dollars.

I am deeply privileged to have the official support of America’s border patrol agents, and will never let them down.

This is our chance to make our country safe again, and ultimately, Make America Great Again.”

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2016/...let-them-down/

They want the AFL-CIO to kick the union out of its labor federation. But it’s not that easy

03/31/2016 02:08 pm ET
Dave Jamieson

A prominent immigrants rights group is asking the AFL-CIO labor federation to expel a member union that represents border patrol agents after it endorsed Donald Trump for president.

The National Border Patrol Council praised the Republican candidate’s hardline immigration stance when it announced its support on Wednesday. That, in turn, prompted the group Not1More, which seeks an end to deportations, to appeal to the AFL-CIO to boot the union from its ranks.

The group launched a petition on Wednesday. In a letter to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, it said the National Border Patrol Council, which represents 16,000 agents, is undermining the union federation’s progressive advocacy on immigration reform:

Throughout your tenure, the Border Patrol union has countered the federation’s mission of achieving immigration reform and protecting the rights of all workers. Instead it has protected abuse of power and sought to prevent justice in multiple cases of violence and wrong-doing. Now it has gone further by endorsing the racist and xenophobic campaign of Donald Trump which not only promises mass deportation but mass destruction of the broader labor movement and the values it’s built upon.

Not1More and the AFL-CIO are allies in a way in the fight against the Obama administration’s deportation of undocumented immigrants. In 2014, three dozen hunger strikers with Not1More met with Trumka at the labor federation’s headquarters, where he praised them for “calling attention to this untenable, unacceptable situation.”

The AFL-CIO’s increasingly progressive stance on issues like immigration and criminal justice doesn’t necessarily jibe with all unions, particularly those representing workers in law enforcement who oppose reform. Liberal unions have similarly called on the labor federation to terminate the membership of the International Union of Police Associations, on the grounds that it defends police brutality.

But cutting off a member union from the AFL-CIO isn’t a simple matter, even if its politics conflict with those of the labor federation. The National Border Patrol Council is a smaller part of the American Federation of Government Employees, a major national union that represents federal workers. AFGE itself is a member of the AFL-CIO, and it’s far more liberal than its council of border patrol agents, having endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in December.

It isn’t clear whether the AFL-CIO could expel the National Border Patrol Council without also expelling AFGE as a whole.

There’s also the much larger question of whether a labor federation should be in the business of exiling member unions because of their politics. Border patrol agents are workers, too, and a basic tenet of the labor movement is that all workers deserve a right to representation on the job. The AFL-CIO could publicly condemn a member union’s politics without necessarily banishing them from the country’s most powerful labor federation.

An AFL-CIO spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the call to drop the border patrol union.

For its own part, the border patrol union has made it abundantly clear that it is against the larger federation’s support for undocumented workers. On its website, the union says it “opposes all efforts by AFL-CIO to aid and support illegal aliens working illegally within the United States. Instead of focusing on increasing their per capita and membership through illegal aliens, the AFL-CIO should firmly oppose illegal immigration and instead support American workers.”

Trump has made xenophobic appeals to supporters ever since launching his campaign in June. He has advocated for banning Muslims from entering the United States, and has called undocumented Mexican immigrants “criminals” and “rapists.” He also has encouraged violence at his rallies, much of it directed at minority protesters.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b0a06d5805057f