13-Year-Old DJ Daniel Sworn In As U.S. Border Patrol Agent
on May 16, 2025
Swearing In Of Young Man Coincides With National Police Week
“LET’S JUST SAY — IT’S A VERY BAD DAY TO BE AN ILLEGAL ALIEN TERRORIST,” the White House posted on X, formerly Twitter, after 13-year-old DJ Daniel was sworn in as a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
Who could forget DJ Daniel? He’s the young man from Houston, Texas, who President Donald Trump, in a very touching moment during his joint address to Congress on March 4, had sworn in as a U.S. Secret Service agent.
His swearing in as a Border Patrol agent, on Thursday, May 15, occurs during National Police Week, a week which “offers honor, remembrance, and peer support, while allowing law enforcement, survivors, and citizens to gather and pay homage to those who gave their lives in the line of duty,” the week’s official website states.
May 15, through a presidential proclamation made by Trump, is Peace Officers Memorial Day.
For DJ Daniel, a week like Police Week embodies much of his journey since his brain and spinal cancer diagnosis in 2018.
🇺🇸🫡 AGENT DJ DANIEL pic.twitter.com/ScKNfEsIeY
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 15, 2025
Giving Hope Amid Illness
Since his cancer diagnosis, DJ and his father, Theodis Daniel, have travelled to over 900 law enforcement agencies. While visiting, the Secret Service website noted that “nearly all of [the agencies they visited] have named DJ an honorary officer.”
“If you call us to come, we are gonna show up,” Theodis Daniel said. “We will do anything to try to motivate people and give them hope.”
During Trump’s March 4 joint address to Congress, DJ Daniel was given special attention, with the president saying:
“Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is DJ Daniel, he is 13 years old, and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago.”
Accepting his Secret Service badge, the hug DJ Daniel gave Secret Service Director Sean Curran was one of the most heartwarming sights in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in recent memory.
Curran was appointed by Trump to serve as director of Secret Service following his response to the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
For DJ Daniel, the Secret Service and Border Patrol agencies are among the more high profile departments he has been sworn into as an honorary officer.
National Police Week Observed
Yesterday, May 15, the White House was illuminated by blue lights, signifying the Trump administration’s support for law enforcement.
First Lady Melania Trump shared a photo of the White House in blue on X:
We honor and express our gratitude to the brave men and women in blue who dedicate their lives to protecting our communities. #NationalPoliceWeek #WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/UQFfLzrxgo
— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) May 16, 2025
In his Police Week presidential proclamation, Trump criticized his predecessor, President Joe Biden, writing:
“Tragically, the previous administration allowed lawlessness to permeate our country, making it harder for our law enforcement officers to do their jobs. Their reckless, soft-on-crime policies emboldened criminals and thugs; wreaked havoc on the sanctity of our homes, businesses, and public spaces; instilled fear; and jeopardized public trust.”
Hoping to correct course, Trump wrote, “As your 47th President, I am fulfilling my promise to make America safe again by reclaiming sovereignty on the border and restoring the rule of law in communities nationwide.”
The restoring of rule of law, he said, will be accomplished through the utilization of “every available means to equip and train law enforcement, retain qualified officers, and recruit on the basis of meritocracy.”
Trump went on to note he has requested that Congress “codify” his January 20 executive order “mandating the death penalty for the murder of a police officer.” This being codified into law, he said, would send “an unequivocal message that barbaric acts of violence and blatant disregard for the lives of our Nation’s heroes will not be tolerated.”
Similar sentiments were shared by Vice President JD Vance, who addressed attendees of the 2025 National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service on May 15.
To learn more about National Police Week, visit www.policeweek.org.
Watch the 2025 National Peace Officers Memorial Service here:
