Chris Cabrera and Emilio Gonzalez join to discuss Latinos joining Border Patrol and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' comments on the matter.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass's recent comments expressing sadness over the increasing number of Latinos joining the Border Patrol, attributing their motivation to financial need, have sparked strong reactions. Federal data shows that more than half of Border Patrol agents are Hispanic, and representatives from both the National Border Patrol Council and the Department of Homeland Security have rejected Bass's characterization.

Chris Cabrera, Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council, emphasized that many agents join due to language skills and regional ties, while DHS stated that agents are motivated by patriotism and a desire to protect the country. Emilio Gonzalez, former head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, called Bass's remarks offensive and asserted that many Hispanics join law enforcement out of a sense of vocation and patriotism.

DHS: LA mayor should stop race-baiting

In a way, I think it's sad. I think that those Border Patrol agents are going to have a difficult time when they're out in the field and they see what actually happens in real life separate from their training. But I do understand that their primary incentive is financial. I think it just speaks to the financial situation that millions of Americans find themselves in. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is there criticizing the historic numbers of Latinos joining Border Patrol, calling it sad and saying they're only doing it for the paycheck. Her comments drawing mixed reactions, particularly from Border Patrol agents themselves. In fact, according to federal data, more than half of all Border Patrol agents are Hispanic. Chris Cabrera is here, the Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council. We'll get his thoughts. Emilio Gonzalez is the former head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under President Bush and the Trump DHS transition team member. Thank you very much, both of you, for joining us here. Clearly a lot to gnaw on there, if you will, with the L.A. Mayor's comments. Chris Cabrera, can I start with you on that? Yeah, you know, her comments couldn't be any farther removed from reality. I mean, I joined the Border Patrol over 24 years ago and it was predominantly a Hispanic organization as far as the agents that are there. I mean, mainly because Spanish language proficiency is a requirement. So you're not going to find too many people other than Hispanics that are proficient in the Spanish language the way, you know, a lot of us were brought up. On top of that, a lot of folks that joined the Border Patrol are from border regions. So they've seen Border Patrol, they've known Border Patrol agents growing up. It's, you know, I don't know who her media team is, but she probably starts to need, she probably needs to start looking for a new one because she's way off base here. Yeah, and also, you know, taking the race part out of it, which she so, you know, softly or rather easily injected, which didn't need to be, who doesn't take a job for the money? Obviously. I mean, that's why, you know, that's you have bills to pay, you have mouths to feed, you have responsibilities. Sure, we love our jobs. Of course, you want to do something that you love, but you need to get paid. There's nothing wrong with that, especially in this nation. And the Department of Homeland Security responded on X about this. She said this quote, the patriotic men and women joined Border Patrol because they want to defend our homeland, help secure our borders and catch drug traffickers, gang members, pedophiles, rapists, murderers trying to illegally enter our country. Mayor Bass should stop race baiting for media clicks and start thanking our law enforcement officers for making California communities safe against something she refuses to do. Emilio Gonzalez, can I get your thoughts on that? And then her calling Latinos joining and increasing rates sad. Listen, I couldn't agree more with the DHS spokesperson. People join the law enforcement community because they genuinely feel a vocation. You know, there was a great quote that says, great minds discuss ideas, small minds discuss people. When you run out of things to say, when you have no message, you go for people. The fact that you've got Hispanics joining the Border Patrol, I mean, what's wrong with that? They're doing it out of patriotism. People, Hispanics join the military, not because of the travel, they do it because of an elevated sense of patriotism to defend your country. So the fact that she would stoop so low as to say, well, they're only doing it for the paycheck, I find that insulting. It's offensive and it's downright racist. Well said. We got to leave it right there. I appreciate that, gentlemen. Thank you so much. And thank you for your service. We do appreciate that. That is Chris Cabrera and Emilio Gonzalez. Happy New Year. Thank you. Thank you.

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