Border Patrol Chief Resists Biden: ‘I Cannot’ Comply With Demand To Use Non-Legal Immigration Terms

Rodney S. Scott, Chief, U.S. Border Patrol, sent a memo to Troy A. Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, informing Miller that he cannot comply with the Biden administration’s softening of legal terms to refer to illegal aliens.

The Biden administration sent memos to immigration officials last week outlining their leftist agenda, which included no longer using terms that are part of U.S. federal statutes.

The Daily Wire reported:

The memo orders immigration officials to make changes in rhetoric such as substituting “noncitizen or migrant” for “alien,” “undocumented” for “illegal,” and “integration” for “assimilation.” …

The memos are also a clear message to immigration officials and officers who supported Trump that Biden is now in charge of immigration policy, and so immigration officials should behave accordingly

Scott sent a memo to Miller on April 16 titled, “Updated Terminology for U.S. Customs and Border Protection April 16,” and explained that he cannot comply with the proposed changes and that if Biden wants to alter what illegal aliens are called then the administration needs to pass its proposed “U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021.”

Scott warned against politicizing the agency and said that he was becoming concerned about the morale of those charged with protecting America’s borders.

The memo states:

This memorandum serves as my official nonconcurrence to the proposed updated terminology for U.S. Customs and Border Protection communications and materials. I will not undermine this effort; however, I cannot endorse it.

Rationale: The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) is and must remain an apolitical federal law enforcement agency. Over the years, many outside forces on both extremes of the political spectrum have intentionally, or unintentionally politicized our agency and our mission. Despite every attempt by USBP leadership to ensure that all official messaging remained consistent with law, fact, and evidence, there is no doubt that the reputation of the USBP has suffered because of the many outside voices. Mandating the use of terms which are inconsistent with law has the potential to further erode public trust in our government institutions.

I am also concerned about the morale of our workforce. To be clear, when I reference morale, I am not referring to an employee’s happiness. I am referring to an individual’s willingness to take personal risk each day to keep others safe. There are countless human capital studies which indicate that mission criticality and support from leadership affect the willingness of personnel to comply with policy and professional standards.

I respectfully recommend that we delay these changes until the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 is enacted and then adjust appropriately.

The news comes as Biden’s border crisis has caused the administration numerous headaches after it reversed much of the Trump administration’s policies. Recent polling has found that Biden has the third lowest approval rating at the 100 day mark in his presidency, despite receiving positive news coverage, and barely one-third of Americans approve of his handling of his border crisis.

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