Border Patrol Union Favors Donald Trump

We’ve seen dozens of strong conservatives come out to throw their support behind Donald Trump in the last three months, but none of them may matter as much as this one. On Friday, a representative from the nation’s largest Border Patrol union issued a statement in praise of the Republican frontrunner. Art Del Cueto, a chapter president of the National Border Patrol Council, wrote: “Mr. Trump is the only candidate that has publicly expressed his support of our mission and our agents. He has been an outspoken candidate on the need for a Secure Border and for this we are grateful.”

Del Cueto did not speak for the Council as a whole, and he stopped short of delivering an official endorsement, which he said was in keeping with the union’s policy. He did, however, ride as close to that line as possible. “We are confident that the National Border Patrol Council’s longstanding message about the unsecured border and much needed support for our Agents will be received well by Mr. Trump,” he wrote. “The American public deserves to be secure in their own country and we encourage all voters to consider that candidate that has the political will to make it happen.”

Whether it’s an endorsement or not, it’s telling that Trump’s hardline stance on illegal immigration is finding a receptive audience among the men and women who are actually down in the thick of it. These law enforcement officers know what’s happening at the border in a way the bureaucrats in Washington do not. They have watched helplessly for seven long years as President Obama has consistently undermined their mission and weakened the laws. As he has provided incentives and enticements to would-be illegal immigrants.

And they have watched Republicans drift away from the issue of securing the border in an anemic attempt to turn their Hispanic numbers around. Instead, these establishment leaders have found themselves in a political no-man’s-land where they are ineffective, uninspiring, and loathed by activists on both sides of the immigration issue. Great job as always, guys.

This is the vacuum that Trump has filled, and you can bet that Border Patrol agents are relieved to see it. To their astonishment, they finally have someone who knows the score. And, together with conservatives who want to see our laws enforced, they will support Trump for as long as his campaign exists. Under Obama, our laws and our law enforcement officers have been under constant assault. There was bound to be a backlash. Here it is.