Former President Donald Trump on Sunday proposed hiring 10,000 additional Border Patrol agents and giving them a 10,000 retention and signing bonus, after he derailed a bipartisan bill earlier this year that included funding for more border personnel.
Trump made his pledge during a rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona, roughly 260 miles north of the state's border with Mexico. He accepted an endorsement from the agents' union, the National Border Patrol Council, which is a longtime Trump backer that endorsed him during his prior two campaigns.
Trump has made illegal immigration the focus of his campaign and blamed Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, for a record spike in unauthorized crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. He frequently denounces people entering the U.S. illegally as invaders and criminals, and he has vowed to stage the largest deportation operation in American history if he is elected president again.
He did defy the union earlier this year when he convinced Republicans to kill a bipartisan immigration bill that contained additional border resources. According to the White House, the bill would have funded 1,500 personnel at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which includes the Border Patrol.
Trump at the time said he did not want to give Democrats a political victory on his key issue. At the rally, Trump contended the legislation was "a horrible bill."
