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A Border Patrol agent makes the case for Trump’s plan to hire 5,000 more agents

As part of its plan to empower federal immigration authorities, the White House has ordered the hiring of 15,000 new immigration agents: 10,000 ICE agents and 5,000 Border Patrol agents.

This would increase the Border Patrol force by 25 percent even as the number of people caught illegally crossing America’s southern border is hitting a four-decade low.

Customs and Border Protection, which includes the Border Patrol, is already the largest law enforcement agency in America, with more armed agents than the FBI, DEA, Secret Service, and U.S. Marshals combined. Finding thousands more people who can pass the background check and do the difficult job won’t be easy — especially for an agency that has already been criticized for allowing in subpar applicants.

VICE News’ David Noriega went to Arizona to meet with Art del Cueto, the vice president of the Border Patrol Union, and ask him why the patrol needs so many new agents.

This segment originally aired March 22, 2017, on VICE News Tonight on HBO.