Border Patrol Agent Brandon Judd testified before the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee in his role as President of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) and sounded the alarm to lawmakers about policies of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Within days, politically-appointed managers in the Border Patrol agency filed a complaint against leaders of the NBPC. They were apparently emboldened by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske’s statement before the House Appropriations Committee impugning the integrity of Border Patrol Agent Brandon Judd. The commissioner, widely hated by Border Patrol agents for his public dismissals of their perspectives, never clarified which aspects of Agent Judd’s testimony with which he took issue.

Representative Bob Goodlatte, who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called into question the apparent retribution taken against agents for telling the truth in sworn testimony. This is indicative of what Breitbart Texas has historically heard from Border Patrol agents across the nation.

Chairman Goodlatte’s letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson is posted in full below, along with the press release on the matter:

Goodlatte Raises Concerns About Possible DHS Retaliation Against Border Patrol Union Chief Complaint filed against Brandon Judd within days of his testimony about the Administration’s catch and release policy

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today pressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson regarding possible DHS retaliation against the head of the Border Patrol union for his shocking testimony about the Administration’s policy of releasing recent border crossers with no intention of ever removing them.

On February 4, 2016, Brandon Judd, President of the American Federation of Government Employees National Border Patrol Council, testified before the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee that DHS has established a policy requiring Border Patrol agents to release unlawful immigrants apprehended at the border and not place them in removal proceedings. This de facto policy contradicts the Obama Administration’s so-called enforcement priorities issued on November 20, 2014, which state that unlawful immigrants who came to the United States after January 1, 2014 and recent border crossers are priorities for removal and are to be placed in removal proceedings.

Within days of Judd’s testimony, the House Judiciary Committee has been informed that a manager within the Border Patrol submitted a complaint for alleged misconduct against him and other leaders of the National Border Patrol Council. In his letter to Secretary Johnson, Chairman Goodlatte states the timing of the complaint “raises the specter of retaliation against Mr. Judd and the other executive committee members” and calls on him to ensure that no DHS employee or contractor will be targeted for voicing legitimate concerns about compliance with unwritten departmental policies that contradict written policies.