WASHINGTON, DC - While attending National Police Week this past May, Law Enforcement Today owner Kyle Reyes was joined by Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) National President Matthew Silverman for an exclusive interview with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott where the trio discussed everything from working under the Trump administration to the increase in agency morale.
While discussing what it’s like working under the current administration, Reyes mentioned how he’s come to understand “that the hardest part about the administration is keeping up with President Trump." Commissioner Scott concurred with the sentiment but also highlighted it as “a blessing.”
“That is probably one of the hardest things, is keeping up with President Trump. The focus on the border, some would see it as overwhelming. We see it as a blessing,” Commissioner Scott stated, adding, “The CBP officers, Border Patrol agents, our Air and Marine Interdiction Agents, even our professional staff, they signed up because they believe in the mission, securing the border, and the president has been nothing but supportive of that.”
Commissioner Scott said that President Trump’s support of agencies like CBP has been paramount to the successes seen thus far regarding border security, such as promoting policies that encourage collaboration at all levels of the federal government.
“[The border is] more secure than it's ever been in the history of this country,” Commissioner Scott emphasized, adding, “Yes, a lot of that is because of CBP, but a lot of it is because of the president's policies. He made it clear to every agency in the federal government, ‘Hey, we all are in this together, and you're all going to help CBP secure the border.’”
FLEOA National President Silverman asked about what morale has been like in the agency since President Trump assumed office for his second term, specifically inquiring about the positive shift from working under the Biden administration to the current one. Commissioner Scott recounted his time in the agency under the Biden administration as “demoralizing” due to what he perceived as an “intentional” mishandling of border security and addressing national security issues.
“[A]ny time that anybody talked about the criminal threats, the terrorist threats coming across that border, those conversations were stymied,” Commissioner Scott said of his time serving as Border Patrol Chief under Biden, later emphasizing, “It was demoralizing.”
Juxtaposing his experience under the Biden administration to the current one, Commissioner Scott stated, “To have an administration that came in and said, not only, ‘Go do your job, but by the way, what do you really need to do your job?’ And then to go fight for the big, beautiful bill to get us more resources. To every time – the Truth Social posts that come from the president, all the messaging about how much he supports law enforcement, it's not only helped our current agents, but it's boosted recruiting through the roof.”
Reyes steered the conversation to what keeps Commissioner Scott “up at night,” to which he responded that the “mis-messaging” regarding border security and enforcing immigration law coming from anti-law enforcement pundits and activists has become a growing concern due to a sizable portion of the American public “buying a lie” which has translated into acts of legislation putting national security at risk.
“And now states, local communities, even right down the street from us right now - on Capitol Hill - people are pushing bills with that based on that false narrative. My experience tells me a couple of things. One, it is very demoralizing to our personnel, but two, it's a real, it's a serious threat. If we can't control who and what enters our country, we have no security - national security, public safety - it all crumbles,” Commissioner Scott stated.
Check out the full interview below:
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