Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing backlash for comments about Hispanic Americans serving with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Bass spoke with CNN’s The Situation Room during a feature profiling Border Patrol and ICE agents training to work along the southern border. CNN noted that a large percentage of recruits were of Hispanic heritage and asked whether they had reservations about apprehending their “own kind.” One recruit responded, “They didn’t come in the right way so they aren’t my kind.” Border Patrol Agent Claudio Herrera added, “I’m not going after my own kind because my own kind will do it legally.”
Bass’s comments on the CNN segment
Asked about the segment by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Bass said she found it “sad.” She added, “I think that those Border Patrol agents are going to have a difficult time when they’re out in the field and they see what actually happens in real life, separate from their training.”
Bass also said, “I do understand that their primary incentive is financial,” adding, “I think it just speaks to the financial situation that millions of Americans find themselves in.”
Additional context cited in the report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said applications have risen 70 percent compared with a year ago, according to a report from Newsmax. The surge comes as the Trump Administration has increased incentives to attract more applicants for border security goals. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, more than half of Border Patrol agents are Hispanic.
