Border Patrol Union: Trump's National Guard Deployment A 'Colossal Waste'

[question everything]

(apologies if already posted)

A month after President Donald Trump called for sending National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, the head of the national Border Patrol union called the deployment “a colossal waste of resources.”

“We have seen no benefit,” said Brandon Judd, president of the union that represents 15,000 agents, the National Border Patrol Council.

The criticism is a dramatic departure for the group, which endorsed Trump’s candidacy for president and has praised his border security efforts, including National Guard deployments.

(snip)

Border Patrol Acting Chief Carla Provost responded to the union’s claims by acknowledging that the National Guard’s role has changed compared with past deployments. Although they have been deployed to the border, they have to be paired with an agent who has law enforcement powers, and Border Patrol and defense officials decided it was better to use them behind the scenes for surveillance and air support.

(snip)

Agent Chris Cabrera, a spokesman for the union in the Rio Grande Valley, said troops are stationed far from the border, duplicating rather than lessening agents’ workload.

Also, while remote, unfenced stretches of the Rio Grande west of McAllen, Texas, frequented by drug smugglers go unguarded, he said, troops weld gates and fix roads, jobs he described as “busy work.”

(snip)

Some lawmakers have also criticized the deployment.

“The National Guard deployment is a waste of finite resources, and is duplicative of existing border security efforts,” said Texas Rep. Mary E. Gonzalez, who represents a district outside El Paso.

The borderwide National Guard deployment is expected to cost the federal government $220 million to $252 million through the end of the year, according to Christopher Sherwood, a Department of Defense spokesman. That includes $204 million to $221 million in pay and support costs for 3,143 troops and $16 million to $31 million for 12,000 flying hours by 26 UH-72 Lakota helicopters, Sherwood said.

https://taskandpurpose.com/trump-border-patrol-colossal-waste/

[BigmanPigman]

1. Weren't the CA lawmakers and Dem reps in the state

the ones that the GOP and the moron were attacking for saying this would be the result when it was first implemented? Yes, they did! The mayors and governor all said this was a stupid idea and a waste of money and manpower. Gee, who would've guessed that they knew what they were talking about.

[question everything]

3. Yes. And I think eventually they relented

Decided to pick and choose the battles

[JI7]

2. they endorsed an egotistical scumbag who likes to order others around

they got what they voted for and endorsed .