Southwest
Border Patrol morale is 'going through the roof' under Trump administration, top official says
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks told Fox News Wednesday that morale at his agency is “going through the roof” under the Trump administration.
Speaking to “America’s Newsroom,” Banks said, “We’ve had the handcuffs taken off” and “we’re allowed to actually do our job, which is go out and enforce the law.
“Under this administration, they have literally taken the handcuffs off and allowed us to enforce law instead of policies that were created to contradict the law and so our morale has continued to rise,” he continued.
Banks’ remarks come following a new report by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that revealed there were fewer apprehensions at the southern border in the entire month of March than there were in the first two days of the month in 2024 under the Biden administration.
ARMY TAKES CONTROL OF FEDERAL LAND ALONG NEW MEXICO BORDER TO INCREASE SECURITY, PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
U.S. Border Patrol processes a group of migrants near a highway in February 2024 outside Eagle Pass, Texas. Banks told Fox News that apprehensions there have fallen sharply. (Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images)
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has signed orders ending birthright citizenship, suspended refugee admissions, ended the use of an app at the southern border to admit migrants via humanitarian parole, and resumed border wall construction.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, Border Patrol agents are now back to doing the jobs they signed up for: securing the border, rather than serving as travel agents for illegal aliens,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this month. “The Los Angeles Times captured the Trump effect on the border with a recent article. Their headline read ‘California, Mexico border, once overwhelmed, is now nearly empty with so few migrants coming into the U.S.’ They wrote, ‘shelters that once served migrants have completely closed.’”
Banks also told Fox News on Wednesday that recruiting is “looking great” and the Border Patrol is “seeing some of our highest numbers ever.”
CBP OFFICERS SEIZE OVER $14 MILLION OF ALLEGED METHAMPHETAMINE AT SOUTHERN BORDER
A Border Patrol agent works to seal an illegal cross-border tunnel between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 11. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images)
“Really excited about that because as you know, during the previous four years under the Biden administration, we saw a mass exodus from the Border Patrol and we saw some of our lowest recruiting numbers. We’re seeing the opposite,” he added. “We’re seeing agents pull retirement paperwork in order to continue staying in and serve, and we’re seeing our recruiting numbers go through the roof.”
Banks said at one point, the area of Eagle Pass, Texas, “was seeing an average of three to four thousand [apprehensions] a day.
A large group of migrants, some carrying children, cross the Rio Grande and arrive in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 27, 2023. (Benjamin Lowy for Fox News Digital )
“Right now, Eagle Pass, Texas is seeing an average of 18 apprehensions a day and very few gotaways, little to none. Some days zero gotaways,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
Los Angeles, Ca
Boyle Heights warehouse cleanup begins as crews face 85 million pounds of spoiled food
Cleanup efforts are underway Thursday at the Boyle Heights cold-storage warehouse that burned for eight days after firefighters officially declared the massive blaze knocked down Wednesday evening. Los Angeles Fire Department crews remain at the Lineage warehouse near Union Pacific Avenue and South La Puente Street as they transition into the overhaul phase, searching for […]
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