Border Patrol agents are angered at Customs and Border Protection for announcing Monday its plan to send authorities into a part of El Paso, Texas, overrun by illegal migrants.
Multiple officials told the Washington Examiner that they were caught off guard by the agency's statement that it would "conduct a targeted enforcement operation" starting Tuesday to reel in about 2,500 migrants in the area.
"I'm not sure why CBP did that. So much for the element of surprise," one official said, noting that many agents do not believe Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz or Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will defend them.
The 2021 Del Rio incident, where border agents on horseback were wrongly accused of whipping immigrants, was cited by two officials as reason for the skepticism.
"They know the Venezuelans will get violent, but they don't trust Chief Ortiz to support them," the first official said. "Agents feel like they were following orders in Del Rio and were not backed up."
The National Border Patrol Council also condemned the Biden administration's decision to publicly release the information, calling the operation a "sad joke" and "another pandering PR stunt."
"Nothing like publicly announcing that dangerous people will be arrested, while warning them ahead of time exactly where to run and hide to avoid arrest," the union wrote on Twitter.
"Serious law enforcement leaders don't behave this way," it added.
The backlash comes as the administration prepares to stop utilizing U.S. Code Title 42 Section 265, a provision that allows the government to bar individuals from entering if they come from a country with an infectious disease present.
Title 42 is set to expire Thursday after being in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.