In Arizona’s Tucson Sector, Border Patrol agents Daniel Hernandez and Teresa Fast sweat under the hot sun as they walk along the rusty fence that splits the United States from Mexico. They opened up about the real challenges of working on the front lines.
“A few months ago, before the election and before the previous administration, we were mostly doing processing of detained individuals,” Hernandez told Fox News Digital. “That’s an administrative duty that is part of our job, but it used to be a small sliver of it, [and we were] doing a large portion of that. Now it’s inverse.
“Now we’re doing small slivers of the processing, and we’re doing the bulk of patrolling duties. Most of our agents are out there patrolling.”
This area has always been one of the busiest spots for border activity, the agent explained. “We’re at [a] 91% reduction [rate] over last year’s amounts, but that’s because we’re out here every single day.”
“If we were to take our foot off the gas and just assume [the border’s secure], then we would lose what we had gained. So every single day we have to invest in patrolling,” he added.
The White House says that as of April 28 this year, illegal crossings at the border “are down by 95%” compared to the high numbers seen during the Biden administration.
In the past, budget cuts held agents back and made it hard for them to finish their work. Now, under President Trump, they feel a fresh wave of hope and trust in making the border safer for everyone.
“People are less inclined to climb a fence of this magnitude,” Hernandez said as he pointed to the strong southern border wall. “If they do, they have to go up high, then our cameras or our agents can spot them if they go up high. So that’s the advantage of having robust infrastructure on the border that buys us time to get here.”
“Smugglers will try anything. It’s shocking that they will risk somebody’s life by getting them up on a really small, handmade ladder,” he continued. “[It’s one] way somebody might try to defeat the border wall… and people will always try.”
Agents show real compassion when they think about the human side of deportations and illegal crossings. This view is shared by Sean McGoffin, the chief of the Tucson Sector Border Patrol.
“The cartels treat people as a commodity rather than as human beings. It’s up to us to reintroduce that element of humanity and make sure we’re saving the lives of those individuals the cartels leave behind. One of the great things we do in the Border Patrol — though it’s rarely talked about — is the rescues we perform each and every day,” the CBP Chief said.
Fast added, “The men and the women of the patrol are really what makes it run. That’s what keeps our country safer, the people who are giving up those games with their kids and their [holidays] and working night shifts – that’s what keeps our country safe. That’s really what it is, the men and the women of the border patrol.”
