Since Donald Trump returned to office last year, the Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Patrol, and ICE have all been on a rampage. And while the escalation is alarming, a culture of corruption and abuse has been present for decade, says author Jenn Budd.
Jenn served with CBP for six years until 2001. She saw her share of that corruption and bravely discussed her ordeal of sexual abuse during her training. She resigned in protest and since has been a fierce advocate for those mistreated by our immigration agencies with her first book, Against the Wall: My Journey from Border Patrol Agent to Immigrant Rights Activist.
Jenn, who also writes and hosts Borderland Talk on Substack, joined The Frank Figliuzzi Show on Lincoln Square to talk about her new e-book, ICE: What Everyone Needs To Know. It’s a roadmap to understanding how the agency continually crosses legal lines and what we can do to get our elected officials to hold them accountable.
“What you’re seeing now is when they come into your cities, that’s just typical Border Patrol behavior when I see it. The ramming of the cars, the lying. And this is why they’re lying, Frank, is because they have been getting away with this type of behavior. So what you’re seeing is normal behavior. And they’ve been allowed to get away with because our victims are undocumented,” Jenn said.
For more on the system’s corruption and ideas for reforms, check out Frank Figliuzzi’s must-see interview with Jenn Budd here on Lincoln Square.
