Four Border Patrol agents (USBP) have taken their own lives in just two weeks. The alarming figure was brought to light by Raul Ortiz - head of the USBP - who reported the suicide of two agents. Rep. Mayra Flores (R) who tweeted about the death of a third party. And the general vice-president of the USBP National Council, Sergio Moreno, who confirmed the death of a fourth agent.
Record number of suicides
Customs and Border Protection (CBP), of which the Border Patrol is a part, set a record of 14 agent suicides in 2009. In September of this year, the Washington Examiner reported that 11 CBP employees had taken their own lives so far this year. With the deaths reported in the last two weeks, the agency would have surpassed its previous all-time high.
"Border Patrol agents are committing suicide at record rate this year as frustrations within the agency over a historic increase in illegal immigration under the Biden Administration mount," notes Just The News, who also sent a request for information to CBP which went unanswered.
Alarm reaches Congress
The alert over the high number of suicides reached Congress, where House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy singled out Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for not doing enough to address the problem:
Mayorkas does not have to deal with the Administration's border failures, except in Congressional hearings that have been few and far between under Democratic leadership. Agents do, and as the 14 lives lost in one year suggest, they are suffering. Suicide is a cry for help, and with an Administration not answering the call, it is up to Congress to act.
"Since the Biden Administration took office, we lost our purpose," added an anonymous USBP agent, highlighting a sense of low morale among CBP personnel.
