Ian Patrick, FISM News

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A meeting between Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Customs and Border Patrol agents in Yuma Sector in Arizona on Wednesday, ended with agents leaving frustrated, saying that Mayorkas had abandoned them.

When agents voiced their concerns about a long list of issues at the border, the DHS Secretary’s responses did not satisfy their complaints. The meeting was recorded by a border agent in attendance and acquired by Townhall, which broke the story.

The meeting started with Mayorkas addressing the concerns of CBP agents that their job responsibilities are being overextended, while also addressing the fact that their jobs have “not gotten any easier over the last few months”:

The job has not gotten any easier over the last few months and it was very, very difficult throughout 2021. I know apprehending families and kids is not what you signed up to do. And now we got a composition that is changing even more with Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and the like, it just gets more difficult.

He then acknowledged that the “the policies of this administration are not particularly popular with U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” but wanted them to try and go along with it. He then opened the floor up for questioning.

The first question from a border agent in the crowd immediately set a hostile tone. The agent asked how DHS can reconcile the fact that border security is supposed to be the agent’s main mission, but they are continually pulled away from patrolling the border to process the record number of illegal immigrants coming through.

Mayorkas said he was “absolutely right” and again recognized they aren’t doing what they “signed up to do” but is trying to secure what they need to do their job. The agent replied that border agents have “been hearing that for years.”

Mayorkas then tried to assure him, saying “I’ll never turn my back on you,” to which the agent quipped that Mayorkas had turned his back on them already.

Another agent talked about the many issues in the Yuma Sector where they worked, saying it was “demoralizing” to see how politicians “demonize” border agents and the job they are doing. Mayorkas said he understood, as he had received threats against him and his family.

Mayorkas was also asked why there aren’t more immigrants being sent back to Mexico under the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, which the Biden administration tried to get rid of but was forced to keep it in place under a court ruling. Mayorkas said that those “numbers are not where they need to be” and tried to again reinforce the idea that the situation is under negotiation with Mexico.

At one point, Mayorkas talked about how he had approved closing the “gaps” and making “the gates operational.” While the audio is hard to distinguish, he could be referring to closing the gaps and gates of the border wall which was halted when Biden took office.

Yet another agent complained that he is “spending more time down here” than with his family and wondered if that was the solution Mayorkas had in mind. The DHS Secretary said no but admitted that the border situation is worse now than it “has been in at least 20 years.”

After that a different agent chimed in to compare Trump’s administration to the current one, saying that under Trump “this place was running fine, everyone was doing their job.” He then challenged Mayorkas about what exactly has changed under the Biden administration, to which the DHS Secretary responded that the situations in South and Central American countries are what is driving the illegal immigrants to the United States.

Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz eventually took back the floor and was audibly upset with how the Q&A session had gone. He can be heard trying to defend Mayorkas, shouting that no changes will happen “overnight,” and saying that the situation is worse due to COVID-19 policies and the amount of illegal immigrants being encountered. He told them he didn’t want to hear the agents “griping” but to come up with solutions.

Questions continued for about 15 minutes after that, and sources say that Mayorkas was visibly upset for the duration of the meeting. To listen to the full meeting, click this link to visit the Townhall page with the recording.