Friday morning the Sierra Vista Herald reported that the number of U.S. Border Patrol agents deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border would be cut.
The report was unequivocal and quoted Lloyd Easterling, acting media director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Easterling said the same thing to CNSNews.com earlier in the week.
Late Friday afternoon, a story popped up on the Arizona Daily Star's Web page saying that there would be no decrease in agents along the southern border. Matt Chandler, acting DHS press secretary, told the Star that earlier reports didn't reflect the most current information.
Critics believe DHS was responding to public feedback. "I suspect Chandler's 'most current information' was the negative reaction DHS got to the news that they were pulling agents off the border," said Glenn Spencer of American Border Patrol, a non-governmental organization based on the border in Arizona. "If DHS finished the border fence they could pull thousands of agents off the southern border, not just a few hundred," he added.
