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Border Patrol Quotes

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Border Patrol Quotes

“Good people will always be crossing the border, and whether I'm in the Border Patrol or not, agents will be out there arresting them. At least if I'm the one apprehending them, I can offer them some small comfort by speaking with them in their own language, by talking to them with knowledge of their home. Fine, my mother said, fine. But you must understand you are stepping into a system, an institution with little regard for people. I looked away from her and a silence hung between us. I glanced down at my hands and weighed my mother’s words. Maybe you’re right, I replied, but stepping into a system doesn’t mean that the system becomes you. As I spoke, doubts flickered through my mind.”

PeopleImmigrantsSystemsBorderBorder PatrolMexicans
Book:The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches From the Border
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“Getting bodies,” in Border Patrol lingo, didn’t necessarily mean collecting corpses. Bodies were living people. “Bodies” was one of the many names for them. Illegal aliens, dying of thirst more often than not, are called “wets” by agents. “Five wets” might have slipped out. “Wets” are also called “tonks,” but the Border Patrol tries hard to keep that bon mot from civilians. It’s a nasty habit in the ranks. Only a fellow border cop could appreciate the humor of calling people a name based on the stark sound of a flashlight breaking over a human head.”

PrejudiceImmigrationIllegal ImmigrationUndocumented ImmigrantsPolice ViolenceBorder Patrol
Book:The Devil's Highway: A True Story
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“I learned this one growing up in Texas and, subsequently, living in Los Angeles: always use the 'usted' form when speaking to a Spanish official. Mexican border patrol cops don't like it when you call them 'amigo,' give them a hardy pat on the back, slip a $20 in their pocket. No bueno, it doesn't fly. By the way, those of you not laughing at that obviously took French in high school, and that was a gay choice.”

WayGivingUseSchoolFormChoicesLaughingGrowing UpGrowingGayHigh SchoolBordersOfficialsPocketsLos AngelesTexasSlipsCopMexicanHardyBorder PatrolMexican Border
Author:Iliza Shlesinger
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“Because what a temporary worker program would do is help relieve pressure on the border. It will allow our law enforcement officials and Border Patrol agents to focus on those who are coming here for the wrong reasons, the criminals and the drug dealers and the terrorists.”

ReasonHelpingLawFocusDrugProgramPressureWorkersCriminalsTerroristAgentsBordersOfficialsTemporaryLaw EnforcementEnforcementDealerWrong ReasonsDrug DealersBorder Patrol
Author:Scott McClellan
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“As the witness testified before my Subcommittee on Immigration, that barriers magnify the ability of every Border Patrol agent to be more effective. And so if you make up your mind, you can build substantial mileage barriers. It will increase the ability of our officers to perform, and the most important thing is, it sends a message to the world, the border is closed.”

IfsWorldMindImportantAbilityMessagesIncreaseImportant ThingsImmigrationAgentsWitnessBordersBarriersOfficersMake Up Your MindMileageBorder Patrol
Author:Jeff Sessions
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“That way when we pick people up there they don't really have an excuse. They weren't out there picking mushrooms. They were illegally in the United States. It will simplify the adjudication and will expedite the voluntary return, and it will allow our border patrol officers to patrol both sides of that wall. And we can put surveillance devices on top of the wall, vibration detectors and other devices.”

PeopleWayStatesSidesUnitedUnited StatesWallReturnPicksExcuseBordersDevicesOfficersBoth SidesVibrationsSurveillanceSimplifyMushroomsBorder Patrol
Author:Steve King
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“The Commission endorses prevention as the principal strategy to use in deterring illegal entries. We applaud the efforts of innovative Border Patrol leaders such as Silvestre Reyes with Operation Hold the Line in El Paso. Operation Hold the Line demonstrated that a strategic use of personnel and technology can combine at our land border, as it has for many years at our airports, to reduce unauthorized crossings.”

YearsUseLinesEffortLeaderTechnologyLandStrategyImmigrationOperationsBordersIllegalPrincipalAirportsInnovativeStrategicCrossingsEntryPreventionPersonnelBorder PatrolEl Paso
Author:Barbara Jordan
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“It's absolutely the wrong signal, I think, to those who have entered this country legally or those who may be considering illegal immigration for a lot of benefits to be provided... Emergency medical needs should be met, but otherwise I think send the wrong signal to those who have come into the country legally and those who may be considering illegal immigration. So as you know, I've called for an increase in the border patrol agents. I've looked at that from both the standpoints of drugs and to prevent illegal immigration, but I think that's where the focus should be.”

ThinkingKnowsNeedsShouldMayCountryFocusMetsDrugBenefitsIncreaseMedicalImmigrationAgentsBordersIllegalConsideringSignalsEmergenciesStandpointIllegal ImmigrationBorder Patrol
Author:Elizabeth Dole
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“We have to deal with reality. The reality is, we have a number a very high number of illegal immigrants in this country. They're meeting an important economic need. And we are a nation of laws, and we're a nation of immigrants. And if we're going to address the real threats, then we need to have a temporary worker program to allow our Border Patrol agents to focus on the criminals and the thugs and the terrorists and the traffickers and smugglers that are trying to come into this country illegally.”

IfsNeedsTryingImportantRealCountryRealityLawNationsDealsNumbersFocusEconomicProgramThreatMeetingsWorkersCriminalsTerroristAgentsBordersAddressesImmigrantsIllegalTemporaryThugIllegal ImmigrantsSmugglersBorder Patrol
Author:Scott McClellan
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