DHS Secretary Mayorkas Undercuts His Top Border Agent on Border Security; Border Patrol Chief Says DHS Doesn’t Have Operational Control of US Border

DHS Secretary Mayorkas undercuts his top border agent on border security:

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday that his own Border Patrol chief got it wrong when he told Congress that the border was not secure.

Mr. Mayorkas, facing yet another grilling on Capitol Hill, said he believes the border is secure.

“It is my testimony that the border is secure and we are working every day, day and night, to increase security,” he said.

Last month Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said the opposite, testifying that five of the nine sectors along the southern boundary were not secure, and neither was one sector of the northern border.

Asked by Rep. August Pfluger, Texas Republican, whether he disagreed with his top border expert, Mr. Mayorkas said he did. “I respectfully do in that regard,” he said.

At the time of Chief Ortiz’s testimony, Homeland Security had insisted that there was no daylight between the two men. But under repeated questioning in the House Homeland Security Committee, Mr. Mayorkas admitted he doesn’t agree with Chief Ortiz.

The secretary’s insistence that the border is secure despite record levels of illegal immigrant encounters, record levels of fentanyl and record numbers of terrorism suspects has spurred calls for Mr. Mayorkas to step down. —>READ MORE HERE

Border Patrol chief says DHS doesn’t have operational control of US border:

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last year that the Biden administration had operational control of the US border

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol on Wednesday told lawmakers the agency does not have operational control of the U.S. southern border — as he also said that migration levels were at “crisis” levels in parts of the border.

Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz was speaking at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in McAllen, Texas and was asked about Chairman Mark Green about Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ prior claims last year that the Department of Homeland Security has operational control of the border.

“Does DHS have operational control of our entire border.”

“No sir,” Ortiz responded.

Green held up a definition of operational control in the U.S. code as “the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics and other contraband.” —>READ MORE HERE

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