Border Patrol Union Head Confronted Over Support for Border Bill

Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, was confronted by Fox News‘ host Harris Faulkner on Tuesday over his support for the bipartisan border security bill.

“What this does is it ties any future president’s hands. So, if we have another president like Joe Biden, this will ensure that he doesn’t do what he’s currently doing. That is better than the status quo. Again, I’m going to look at, is this bill better than the status quo and it absolutely is,” Judd said while appearing on Fox News’ The Faulkner Focus. “So, if it’s better than what we currently have, why wouldn’t I support it.”

Later on in the interview, Judd was pressed by Faulkner on how the bill includes executive authority to close the border if necessary and how it could be used by President Joe Biden.

“It ties his hands and it will tie any future president’s hands. So, of course, I will support that,” Judd said.

Faulkner questioned why Biden won’t use executive authority now to close the border if he currently has the ability to, prompting Judd to say “he can, but he won’t, so why not tie his hands to the law, that’s what laws do.”

The Context:

Over the past few days, the release of a bipartisan border security bill has prompted an array of responses from those on both sides of the aisle.

House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have already said they will not support the bill if it passes through the Senate, saying it’s “dead on arrival in the House.”

The proposal of the bill was sparked by ongoing criticism of Biden’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border as data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection has shown a continued increase of illegal migrant encounters at the nation’s Southwest land borders.

What We Know:

While speaking with ABC News earlier on Tuesday, Judd expressed his support for the bill saying “This is absolutely better than what we currently have.”

The bill seeks to increase border security by further construction of a border wall, changes to asylum claims and to close the border if a daily average of 5,000 migrant encounters are recorded over a period of seven straight days.

Newsweek reached out to the National Border Patrol Council via email for comment.

Views:

Upon releasing the border security bill, one of its lead negotiators, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, said it was “the strongest border security legislation in decades that reasserts control of the border.”

However, former President Donald Trump slammed the bill, calling it “a great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party.”

“It takes the HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats have done on Immigration and the Border, absolves them, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans,” Trump wrote in a post to TruthSocial.

What’s Next:

Senators are expected to begin discussing the border bill this week and Republican Senator James Lankford said on Tuesday morning that they are likely to propose amendments to aspects they would like to change.

Judd made similar comments on The Faulkner Focus saying “I will give the positive points in this bill, there are negative points, but if we don’t even let this bill come to light…we don’t even get amendments and that’s what everyone’s talking about.”

“Everybody’s talking about killing it before you’re able to even offer amendments, that’s wrong,” Judd said. “Let’s have the discussion, look at the bad points, keep the good points, but look at the bad points and give amendments to it.”

Update, 2/6/24, 12:35 p.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to the National Border Patrol Council for comment.

Update, 2/6/24, 12:50 p.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information.