“We have hope. We can take care of our country and our citizens. Do what we took an oath to do. Bring pride back to our agency,” a senior Border Patrol agent in Texas wrote in a text message Wednesday morning. “We felt like we were forced to turn our backs on our country! No more!!!”

“Feelings are high right now in a good way,” said a second agent stationed in Texas.

A third agent, a senior official stationed at the Border Patrol’s headquarters in Washington, described being “relieved” at the outcome.

“Personally, I’m relieved and hopeful that we will get back to securing the border the way we have always been meant to secure the border. My friends/colleagues are all feeling grateful and are ready to get to work to fix the border,” the third agent wrote in a text message.

Paul Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council union, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that he expects the incoming Trump-Vance administration to end the use of “catch and release,” or the automatic release of illegal immigrants into the country.

“Trump’s win means a return to a more secure border which we experienced during his first term, but also, the end of catch and release, an end to the influx of criminals from around the world, a notice to the cartels that they’re not going to be allowed free reign of our borders and a voice to the victims of illegal alien crime,” Perez wrote in a text message.

Under the Biden administration, more than 10.7 million people have been encountered by federal police attempting to enter the country, more than any two-term administration, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics.

Although the current administration has returned more illegal immigrants to Mexico and other countries, it has also released more than any other administration into the country to await court dates years down the road.

Rodney Scott, former Border Patrol national chief, said agents nationwide were excited about the election results.

“Yesterday America said loud and clear — we demand better. Better national security, better economic security, and a better brighter future,” said Scott, distinguished senior fellow for border security at the Texas Public Policy Foundation think tank in Austin. “Like the majority of Americans, the agents that I have spoken to are excited to get America back on track toward common-sense policies that put Americans needs first.”

The Biden administration cracked down on the number of border crossings earlier this year, implementing elements of a border deal that failed to pass the Senate. However, a senior agent in Texas said Trump’s victory means the Border Patrol would “begin to enforce immigration laws that are in place” in a way that the current administration skirted.

“Most of the [large Border Patrol facilities that hold immigrants in detention] have a military base/airport near them. Instead of releasing everyone, use the military bases for mass deportations,” the fourth agent suggested. “It worked for the people coming from Haiti. They stopped entering when they were sent directly back to their country.”

A fifth Border Patrol employee, a senior agent in California, touted that the change in administration likely means the agency’s enforcement of immigration laws will increase.

“It’s the consequences that are going to change. With Biden/Harris, we are releasing repeat offenders and people who have been previously removed,” said the fourth agent. “Illegal immigration is not going to be solved in this election or the next, but it has to be controlled. People are always going to look for a better life and the American dream, but they have to do it legally.”

Under the Biden-Harris administration, at least 5.3 million of the more than 7 million illegal immigrants apprehended by the Border Patrol who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally have been released into the country. The remaining 3 million were encountered at ports of entry.

In countless instances, illegal immigrants released into the country have later been arrested as suspects in violent crimes against people in the United States.

Last summer, 37-year-old mother Rachel Morin of Maryland was sexually assaulted and killed while on a jog. The suspect, illegal immigrant Victor Martinez-Hernandez of El Salvador, was arrested this summer by police in Oklahoma.

The death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley earlier this year became so politically explosive that President Joe Biden mentioned her at his State of the Union.

Other incidents, including attacks on New York police plus sexual assaults and homicides against preteen girls and single women in Texas and Iowa, have also attracted media coverage.

“We look forward to making crime illegal again. The men and women who protect the nation’s borders are excited that we now have the strongest advocate for border security on our side (again),” said Perez. “Protecting this nation and its citizens has never been a secondary issue for President Trump, and now we can all rest assured, our country is in the best position to succeed at home and abroad.”

A sixth agent, a senior agent in Texas, was optimistic about the change in White House administrations but interested in how Trump would change day-to-day operations.

“Curious about what he does with the CBP 1 app. That has really directed a good portion of our traffic through the ports of entries,” the sixth agent wrote in a text message. “Also, curious to see what he does with the last proclamation which has helped us tremendously. And of course excited to see what new policies he will implement.”