On the 23rd episode of Immigration Today! Angeline Chen welcomes Jenn Budd. Jenn Budd is a former Border Patrol agent turned immigrant-rights activist. Jenn was a former Senior Patrol agent and Intelligence agent with the U.S. Border Patrol but after many years of witnessing the cruelty and abuse of the agency towards migrants, she decided to denounce her position and speak out against the agency. Jenn is also the author of her memoir Against the Wall – My Journey from Border Patrol Agent to Immigrant Right Activist. She wrote this book in hopes that it would help change the brutal and inhumane immigration system. Her journey is not just a look at the inside of the US Border Patrol, but a look into what enforcing such inhumane policies does to both agents and migrants. She discusses issues of racism, mental health, being LGBTQ, being an ally, working in an abusive environment and how to survive. Jenn Budd has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Vice, CBS and many other outlets which have helped share her unique story.
In this episode, Jenn tells us about her upbringing in Northern Alabama and how she joined the U.S. border patrol as a sort of escape from her abusive household. She goes into detail on the type of work she did detaining migrants crossing the border and the reality of what happens there. Jenn also recounts very personal stories of her experience with hazing, harassment and sexual assault, as well as the mental health issues she later had to cope with. You can read more about this in Jenn Budd’s memoir Against the Wall – My Journey from Border Patrol Agent to Immigrant Right Activist.
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“I was experiencing a lot of mental health issues, a lot of anger. I was having a lot of problems because of all of the death I was encountering and seeing because of the policies that I was enforcing at the U.S. border patrol.”
Purchase a copy of her book on Barnes & Noble or Amazon to learn more about her story. Keep up with Jenn Budd on her website, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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