Shelter dogs would provide therapy for distressed border agents under new bipartisan push
Stray dogs living in shelters could be given a shot at a new life providing comfort to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers under a new bipartisan proposal.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, introduced a bill this week to establish a pilot program allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to adopt the animals from local shelters and train them to be therapy dogs for Border Patrol personnel.
It would build on the existing Canine Support Program established by CBP early last year in the face of mounting concerns about agents' mental health as they deal with the ongoing border crisis.
"These men and women work long hours year-round and face enormous challenges head-on," Gonzales said in a press release. "By improving access to canine therapy support, this legislation will give our law enforcement one more tool to improve mental health outcomes at CBP."
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Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., one of the bill's original co-sponsors, said the existing program "has shown promise to increase staff morale and allow them to better deliver on their promise to keep our homeland safe."
"This is a strong step in the right direction – not just for those serving, but the communities they serve, too," he said.
In addition to aiding border agents, the proposal could also potentially have a positive effect on the country's animal shelters, which have struggled with overcrowding in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a growing number of Americans struggle to make ends meet for themselves, let alone their pets.
"By facilitating the adoption of therapy dogs from local shelters, we're not only providing essential emotional support for our CBP workforce but also offering a loving home to shelter dogs," said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., another of the bill's co-sponsors.
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Concerns about the mental health of Border Patrol officers reached the national stage amid an alarming spike in the number of suicides the department has seen in recent years.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, another of the bill's co-sponsors, spoke with Fox News Digital about the issue during a congressional delegation trip to the McAllen, Texas, sector of the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this year.
"Every time I come down here, it gets worse; the lack of detention space, the human tragedy you see here; what the Border Patrol has to deal with every day, day in and day out, looking at these migrants that are pouring in; this sense of hopelessness, that it won't stop," the Texas Republican said in January.
"Profoundly, I worry about the mental health of our Border Patrol. The suicide rate is going up. They don't have the proper resources."
Seventeen CBP agents died by suicide in 2022 alone, Chris Cabrera, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Congress in March 2023. That’s the highest number since CBP began tracking it in 2007. There were 19,357 CPB agents on the job in 2022.
Since then, the number of illegal border crossings has continued to climb to new highs, while CBP agents are struggling with replenishing a dwindling workforce.