Border Chief Contradicts Biden DHS, Says Border is Not Under Control; Border Patrol Chief Pleads for More Agents, Disagrees with Biden Halting Border Wall Construction

By admin On Mar 21, 2023

Border chief contradicts Biden DHS, says border is not under control:

The Department of Homeland Security does not have “operational control” of the border, the top Border Patrol agent told Congress Wednesday, contradicting the words of his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Chief Raul Ortiz was prodded on the issue at a hearing in Pharr, Texas, by Rep. Mark Green, who asked bluntly if he had operational control.

“No sir,” Chief Ortiz responded.

Mr. Green, Tennessee Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, then played a video of Mr. Mayorkas answering the same question in previous testimony and saying “yes, we do.”

“It’s either ignorance, which is unacceptable, or it’s lying,” Mr. Green said.

Under federal law, the government is required to achieve operational control, which is defined as the prevention of all unlawful entries into the U.S. —>READ MORE HERE

Border Patrol chief pleads for more agents, disagrees with Biden halting border wall construction:

Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz delivered a devastating picture of the border on Wednesday, telling lawmakers that a majority of sectors along the U.S.-Mexico boundary are not secure and saying it was a mistake to stop wall construction.

Chief Ortiz pleaded for Congress to give him more agents and asked for new tools to deliver “consequences” to migrants. He named the kinds of policies that the Trump administration had in place by 2020 but were erased by President Biden.

Chief Ortiz revealed that some 385,000 illegal immigrants are known to have evaded Border Patrol agents so far this fiscal year, and he said up to 20% more have sneaked into the U.S. completely undetected.

He said some areas of the border are in “a crisis situation.” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has shied away from that term.

At one point, Chief Ortiz was challenged directly on whether the border is under operational control.

“No, sir,” he responded.

Later, he was asked whether he disagreed with Mr. Biden’s decision to cancel roughly 300 miles of additional border wall construction that the Trump administration had planned.