Border Patrol union chief touts high morale despite clashes with agitators: 'They are patriotic'

Immigration

Border Patrol union chief touts high morale despite clashes with agitators: 'They are patriotic'

'The rhetoric coming from the left, it does impact our families because of the doxing and the protesters,' Border Patrol union chief Paul Perez said

Peter Pinedo Fox News

Published

January 23, 2026 8:09am EST

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Border Patrol officer morale high despite constant agitators, says union leader

National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez told Fox News Digital that officers’ morale is high despite the constant presence of agitators across the country.

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National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez told Fox News Digital that, despite heavy criticism from the media and Democrats, as well as the consistent presence of agitators, officers’ morale remains high and there is "no shortage of volunteers" to assist with deportation operations.

Perez told Fox News Digital during an interview that though the "majority of our agents are stationed on the southwest border," members of his union understand the threat that criminal illegal immigrants pose to the entire nation after four years under the Biden administration.

"Unfortunately, you throw a dart at the map, and it's very likely that some of the people that Biden let in are there," he explained.

Though distinct from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who are primarily responsible for interior removal operations, Perez said there has been "no shortage of volunteers" for deployments for operations in cities across the country, including Minneapolis, Portland and Los Angeles.

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U.S. Border Patrol agents in tactical gear face a masked protester during a tense confrontation on a sidewalk.

U.S. Border Patrol agents confront a demonstrator during a protest against immigration enforcement in Minneapolis on Jan. 8, 2026. (Tim Evans/Reuters)

"We've got plenty of agents that are willing to go out there to go and help because they see the challenges that our ICE officers and our other our law enforcement partners are going up against and they want to be there to help," he explained. "They're very well-trained, they're very eager, they are patriotic, and they want to do their duty to secure the border and help secure America."

Perez said that because the Biden administration wanted the flow of migrants entering the country to be processed quickly, "there are very few records for us to rely on that are accurate."

"There's just so many people that were let in, to the tune of millions of people, and they were interspersed throughout the United States," he said, adding, "A lot of these people weren't required to put information that we could vet because the administration wanted them out quick."

Perez said that though Border Patrol agents have found themselves being deployed to communities far from home, they have approached operations with the same ethic. At the same time, he said the vitriol from some has had some impact on officers in his union.

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A border patrol agent watches a helicopter

Border Patrol agents at the southern border. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images)

"The rhetoric coming from the left, it does impact our families because of the doxing and the protesters thinking that it's okay because politicians are asking them to protest. They're seeing what they're doing as agitators, and they continue to up the ante and say, ‘Hey, go after these ICE officers, interfere, impede, and there's consequences to that," he said.

Despite this, Perez said that Border Patrol officers are as resolved as ever and they are "not going to back down."

Despite the backlash from protesters, the media and politicians, he said that Border Patrol officers in his union feel that "we've got more support now than we've ever had" because of the administration.

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A Border Patrol agent chatted with a protester in Minnesota on Thursday, finding common ground over military service.

Border Patrol agents in Minnesota. (Brendan Gutenschwager via Storyful)

"From the human aspect, we know the type of people that we've come across, and we don't want them in the cities and communities of America because we know that the damage they can cause," he explained. "We've got so many murderers, rapists, burglars, robbers, and we want to get them out of our country."

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"Our Border Patrol agents live in the communities that they serve, the communities that they patrol and protect. And so, when we go out into other municipalities across the country, we take that into account because that is somebody else's home, that's somebody's city that they live in, and we want them to be safe."

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

Border Patrol union chief touts high morale despite clashes with agitators: 'They are patriotic'