Former President Donald Trump told Americans at an Oct. 13 campaign rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona, that he plans to address a shortage of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents by seeking to boost their pay.
“After I win, I will be asking Congress immediately to approve a 10 percent raise—they haven’t had one in a long time—for all ages, and a $10,000 each retention and signing bonus,” he said, while flanked by a delegation of Border Patrol agents.
A 2023 audit from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector general found that 88 percent of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) respondents reported inadequate staffing over periods of surging illegal immigration….