The emotional toll of Mayorkas’s border crisis on Border Patrol agents

Due to the disastrous border policies implemented by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the Biden administration, this fiscal year is shaping up to have the highest number of encounters of immigrants who entered illegally in our nation’s history — and front-line heroes like Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel are bearing the brunt of the fallout. 

As the House Homeland Security Committee’s new report detailing the tragic human costs of the border crisis makes clear, these men and women are tasked with an impossible job.

Within the first 15 days of September 2023, U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered a staggering 142,000 migrants at the southwest border, with CBP sources later confirming more than 260,000 encounters for the entire month. This record-breaking number of encounters brought the total number of border encounters in fiscal 2023 to more than 2.4 million at the southwest border and more than 3.1 million nationwide. 

These unprecedented and unsustainable numbers represent Mayorkas and the Biden administration’s abject refusal to secure our southwest border, consequentially endangering communities across the country.

Coinciding with this rise of migrants flooding our southwest border is the strain being put on the men and women of DHS law enforcement. These patriotic Americans signed up to protect our border and enforce our immigration laws, and they have been overwhelmed by the historic number of individuals crossing the border as a result of the Biden administration’s policies.

Our Border Patrol agents and CBP officers also witness unspeakable human tragedies on a daily basis. For example, Border Patrol agents regularly discover the bodies of migrants of all ages who wash up along the Rio Grande, having drowned in the perilous crossing. Additionally, they also find men, women and children crammed into stash houses by criminal cartels, where they are regularly subjected to beatings, sexual assault and malnutrition. Facing these horrifying situations daily takes a serious toll on the mental health of the men and women of DHS law enforcement, and they have to take that burden home with them.

In a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Sept. 13, Mayra Cantu, the wife of a Border Patrol agent in the Rio Grande Valley, described in vivid detail the extreme toll that regularly witnessing such events and hearing the stories of traumatized migrants can have on an agent, and the subsequent effects on their families. Cantu testified, “In many cases, an agent turns to alcohol. Solitude. Nightmares. And all of a sudden, we end up with undiagnosed PTSD. Our worst-case scenario is a potential divorce, topped with depression … and just like that, our Border Patrol agents end up with a high suicide rate.”

These statistics and testimonies show how Mayorkas and President Biden have failed our Border Patrol agents and other DHS law enforcement. My heart goes out to these men and women who risk their lives to keep our nation safe. I am gravely disappointed that this administration is making their lives harder instead of giving them the support they need.  

As a former prosecutor and judge, I am appalled at the way this administration is undermining law and order. We can’t expect Americans to respect the rule of law if we allow millions of immigrants to break our immigration laws. And this lack of respect for the law makes the job of our local law enforcement more difficult and dangerous.

Rather than admit their policies have failed, this administration is ignoring lawlessness and criminal conduct at our southern border. This is a blatant disregard for existing laws and a dereliction of duty by Mayorkas and Biden. It is time for this administration to accept responsibility for their mistakes and solve this border crisis for the sake of all Americans.

House Republicans passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act to ensure our law enforcement officers have the tools they need to enforce our laws and secure the border. As the most comprehensive border security bill to date, this crucial legislation will not only take the needed steps to reverse this administration’s failed policies but also support our brave men and women who work along our borders.

Border Patrol agents deserve to feel supported in their job, and Americans deserve to feel safe in their communities. We cannot afford for more lives to be lost due to this administration’s failed policies — securing our border is crucial to our national security and putting an end to this crisis that has affected so many people.

Laurel Lee represents Florida’s 15th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which includes eastern Hillsborough County including Thonotosassa and Plant City, and part of Brandon, as well as parts of Pasco and Polk counties including Zephyrhills and west Lakeland. Rep. Lee serves on the Homeland Security, Judiciary, and House Administration committees.