(NewsNation) — NewsNation took a ride with officials at the southern border to show the situation there like no other news network can.

An anonymous Border Patrol agent said in a special edition of “Dan Abrams Live” that cartels “control the border,” not the United States and its agents.

“Everything that we do is a reaction to things that they have planned,” the agent exclusively told NewsNation’s Ali Bradley. “Usually, we’re chasing around pawns while the kings and queens are doing whatever they want.”

The agent asked to remain anonymous to avoid any ramifications from the government.

“I’m terrified to talk to the media because I’m scared of what, you know, the government would do, which obviously would be to lose my job, right? … They don’t want you speaking on their behalf without their permission,” the agent said.

“Our border is by no means secure, and even if it was, we don’t have the manpower to handle the situation that’s happening right now.”

The agent also warned that “no one is coming to protect you” because law enforcement “has been defunded and overwhelmed.”

READ THE FULL STORY: https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/danabramslive/cartel-controls-border-agent/

‘Crisis on the Border’ reveals the truth over politics

NewsNation reporters fanned out nationwide and reported live on the border crisis and its impact on communities, education and crime rates.

Additionally, NewsNation teams rode along with law enforcement using night-vision technology and a specially outfitted NewsNation border truck.

The special broadcast featured a live panel of border agents and police chiefs from Texas to New York to discuss how the border crisis is impacting their own communities.

NewsNation rides along with ‘brush teams’ patrolling border

So-called “brush teams” help patrol the nation’s southern border, and they’re popping up in the U.S.   The local law enforcement teams scour the stretch of land where migrants sometimes hide and run. If all is aligned right, brush teams are in the right place at the right time, catching those on the run.

NewsNation’s Ali Bradley embedded herself with brush teams across the southern border to see law enforcement’s efforts to capture migrants who enter the United States without authorization. People come fleeing other countries, many avoiding the U.S. legal border crossings. Sometimes, they receive help from cartels.

“Are they part of a gang?” asked Sgt. Tal. Parker with Special Operations SABRE. “Are they coming here to do something else?”

READ THE FULL STORY: https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/newsnation-rides-along-with-brush-teams-patrolling-border/

‘Smuggler’s Highway’: A look at the border’s popular migrant route

Local law enforcement is cracking down on a stretch of highway connecting Arizona and California nicknamed the “Smuggler’s Highway,” which has become a hotspot for smuggling people from the southern border to Phoenix.

Sheriff’s deputies in Pinal County, Arizona, say it isn’t just cartels smuggling migrants but also American citizens trying to make money.

The so-called “Smuggler’s Highway” goes right along the U.S.-Mexico border, turns north to Phoenix and then connects to California. As a result, Pinal County authorities have set up an anti-smuggling unit along the route.

FULL STORY: https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/smugglers-highway-migrants-arizona/

Live from ‘Whiskey 8’: Migrants injured by fall from border barrier

Correspondent Salvador Rivera reported live from San Diego along a stretch of border fence known as “Whiskey 8,” offering a close-up look at the crisis.

Rivera spoke with Jaime Zapata and his family about their challenges at the border. 

“This is a scene that repeats itself many times over throughout the week. Sometimes you have 300 people. This is just one of several gathering areas along the border here in the San Diego sector,” Rivera said.  

Zapata told NewsNation that two of the women in his family were injured after falling from a border barrier, and said that ultimately, it’s up to border paramedics to help them.