Filtered audio and video of Border Patrol agents confronting Mayorkas

(Related video) Mayorkas "horrified" by video at the border 2:44

(CNN) --

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was greeted with concern and frustration during meetings with US Border Patrol agents at various locations along the southern border last week. , according to sources familiar with the discussions and the leaked audio and video.

Frustrations ranged from the COVID-19 pandemic to immigration policy and at times devolved into outright hostility, with one agent turning his back on the secretary and another questioning Mayorkas for wearing a jacket with Border Patrol insignia.

During a meeting in Laredo, Texas, an agent asked the secretary when he had graduated from the Border Patrol Academy, according to three sources who heard the comments.

The secretary replied that he had not.

So "why" are you wearing the badge, the agent questioned, according to an exchange source's recollection.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas joins Border Patrol agents to tour the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, in Yuma, Arizona.

The comments were part of a wave of frustration expressed by often politicized staff tasked with securing the border amid a surge in illegal crossings and a lingering pandemic.

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On this visit, Mayorkas's eighth to the border since taking office, he heard complaints from Border Patrol workers, including staffing issues, policies around releasing migrants after being detained at the border and Covid-19 issues, including staff members who didn't want to get vaccinated and agents who were frustrated that illegally arriving migrants aren't required to get vaccinated, a source said.

Since taking office, the Biden administration has fought to significantly decrease the number of illegal entry apprehensions along the US-Mexico border, a measure of illegal border crossings.

The US Border Patrol made 170,186 apprehensions in December, a slight increase from November, when apprehensions at the border had started to climb again, according to the latest data from US Customs and Border Protection. USA (CBP)

Mayorkas spent three days last week traveling through Arizona and Texas, where he met with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees, briefed on frontline operations and held meetings with actors, officials elected and others.

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During the busy trip, he met with staff in Yuma, Wellton, Clint, El Paso, Fort Bliss and Laredo and made other stops for information.

The trip included a boat tour of the Rio Grande River with Border Patrol agents, a visit to the Laredo Port of Entry with Field Operations personnel, and an award ceremony for various Border Patrol agents for rescues and other achievements.

"We need additional staff, additional funds, and we're really going to push for it," Mayorkas told KGNS during his trip, referring to the agents who patrol the waterways.

Mayorkas and his team, including Border Patrol Chief Raúl Ortiz, attended the 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Border Patrol briefings, known as “musters,” or assemblies.

Hector Garza, president of the Laredo Border Patrol union, told CNN that the "general feeling" among agents was "a feeling of frustration and concern about what is happening at the border," pointing to human smuggling issues. and drugs.

According to Garza, part of the frustration is that, due to the high number of illegal crossings, agents are forced to spend their time processing migrants instead of other law enforcement tasks, such as prevention. of drug trafficking and the arrest of people with serious criminal records.

He also noted the concerns that have been raised about working on the front lines during the pandemic.

"One of the biggest concerns that the agents brought up during this meeting was that in a moment of pandemic, of covid, where we are trying to keep Americans in their homes and we are trying to take all these precautions in the country, those same precautions or those same measures are not being put into practice at the border," he said.

"You can turn your back on me"

During a meeting with Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Arizona, on the first day of the trip, an agent turned his back on the secretary.

At one point in the meeting, Mayorkas told the agent, "You can turn your back on me, but I will never turn your back on you," according to audio obtained by Townhall and confirmed by a source who heard the comments.

The agent replied that the secretary had turned his back on him the day he was appointed.

Mayorkas appeared to refer to the tense meeting, tweeting afterward that he "heard Border Patrol agents loud and clear" during the morning assembly in Yuma.

"They're doing an amazing job on the front lines. I'm fighting to get more of the resources they need."

DHS spokeswoman Marsha Espinosa said the secretary's "priority for this trip was to meet directly with the task force to hear their experiences and address their needs."

"Border Patrol agents are dedicated to their mission and demonstrate tremendous courage and life-saving skills in the performance of their duties. Secretary Mayorkas appreciates the candor during these conversations, and appreciates and respects the views of every member of the Border Patrol." CBP task force," he said.

Employees had suggestions for improvement and the secretary will take action on some of them soon, according to Espinosa.

Low morale in the Border Patrol

In a video obtained by journalist Ali Bradley, agents in Laredo are heard expressing concern about politics, low morale and retention as part of a tense exchange with Border Patrol Chief Ortiz, while Mayorkas listened in the bottom.

Ortiz said "morale is rock bottom," according to the video, and asked members of the agency to "start looking out for each other."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked Monday about the leaked video and whether anything was being done to improve morale.

"Of course, the role Border Patrol agents play in ensuring safety and security at our borders is something that is highly valued in this administration," he said.

"Politicians are never popular with the grassroots," a former senior CBP official told CNN.

"The mission always took precedence, but in recent years the mission has become a political football."

"Say what you want about [former President Donald] Trump, but his support for the Border Patrol mission was never in question," the former official added.

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