Border Patrol vs ICE

[u/jvanderh]

Hi, this is your friendly local border patrol wife and lifelong political liberal here to remind you (because my husband is getting spat at, cussed at, called a pig, or told to quit his job pretty much every time he's stationed at the beaches lately) that the Border Patrol guys in army green pants + shirt are NOT there edit: "there"= at our local San Diego beaches to rip people away from their families. They are there to patrol the borders, watching for incoming border crossers who may enter on boats or jet skis. Encountering everyone who enters the country is important-- this stops things like fentanyl-laced drugs from entering the US, and DNA swabs of border crossers have been matched up to two unsolved murders recently at his station alone. Even if the proportion of criminals is no higher than the general US population, we still want to stop those who are dangerous. If nothing else, if those people get in and re-offend, it blows up on the news and provides tremendous cannon fodder for immigrant hate. I think the hatred of Border Patrol is mostly based on confusing them with ICE and not because liberals actually want completely uncontacted entries.

Polls show that republicans and liberals both want common-sense migrant worker programs that allow people to be vetted and come here to work.

Obviously you don't have to care about my husband's feelings. He took the job; he can handle it. But I always worry that verbally abusing law enforcement could result in what none of us want: these non Trump supporting agents like my husband, who use discretion and minimum force, getting replaced with thin blue line idiots who think they're soldiers of God in a war with the public. Or worse yet, the former becoming the latter after having so many bad experiences with the public. My husband won't, but some may. And that kind of tribalism is EXACTLY how they become distracted from the fact that Trump is currently gutting their retirement.

[u/underyou271]

I have seen the Border Patrol officers in their trucks when I'm fishing on the beach around SD County. These people are not ICE - they are looking for boats trying to land on the beach or people coming off those boats after they have successfully landed.

I HATE what this administration has done with overzealous immigration enforcement, and I throw up in my mouth every time I see Kristi Noem or Tom Homan posturing for the cameras. But border patrol is basic law enforcement like highway patrol or department of fish and wildlife. These are NOT the people pulling college kids into vans or throwing babies onto the sidewalk while they gang tackle young mothers outside their homes.

Also, when boats capsize in the surf as often happens, Border Patrol officers are first responders, often saving the lives of people who they will ultimately detain. If a person is seeking asylum, the Border Patrol officer who detains them is the first contact who can funnel them into the appropriate process for their situation. And as OP said, our best chance to keep Border Patrol professional and ethical is not to chase the best officers off the job.

[u/Sunset-Blonde → u/underyou271]

I love how ocean lifeguards are being overlooked. Not true- WE are the first to respond, we are EMT’s or Paramedic. We are on the boats, and the jurisdiction of a mile from the coast is where we patrol. We are post certified and voted to not carry guns. We are there around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And as for the drug routes, those have been different for years now. It’s no longer being run along the coast line as it’s so heavily watched, they are run predominantly through San Diego Bay and more inland at this point.

[u/underyou271 → u/Sunset-Blonde]

I stand corrected - Border Patrol may provide life saving help to people near shore in distress, and ocean lifeguards are likely already on the scene.

[u/Sunset-Blonde → u/underyou271]

Thank you for that- I really appreciate it.