Border Patrol Chief Pushes Back on DHS Boss Mayorkas' Claim That Border Is Secure

Border Patrol Chief Pushes Back on DHS Boss Mayorkas' Claim That Border Is Secure


During a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in McAllen, Texas on Wednesday, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz contradicted a statement made by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying that the Department of Homeland Security does not have operational control of the U.S. southern border under President Joe Biden.

Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) posed the question to Ortiz regarding the security on the U.S.-Mexico border.

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

“No sir,” Ortiz said in response, according to the Daily Wire.

During the hearing, Green had a poster board behind him that defined “operational control” per U.S. law 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.”

Green then played a video during the hearing in which Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) questioned Mayorkas last year about whether the U.S. had operational control of the southern border, to which Mayorkas replied, “Yes, we do. Yes we do.”

Green then pressed Ortiz to clarify whether he believed Mayorkas was lying when he claimed that DHS had operational control of the southern border. Ortiz responded by reiterating that the new strategy was focused on mission advantage and that operational control was no longer the primary measure of success. He avoided directly answering whether Mayorkas was lying, instead emphasizing the importance of working together to address border security challenges.

The hearing occurred amid a historic influx of millions of undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. during the Biden administration, largely due to policies that are attracting migrants and smugglers associated with cartels.

“The New York Times reported last year that the Mexican drug cartels went from making $500 million a year from human smuggling in 2018 to making $13 billion from human smuggling in 2022, a 2,500% increase,” the Daily Wire noted.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who blasted Democrats for refusing to show up to the hearing, also took to Twitter to lay out the dangers at the border and with the cartels.

“The U.S. Southern border is one of the most dangerous places in the world. We are at WAR with the Mexican cartels, which is why I’m cosponsoring legislation to authorize the full force of our military against these thugs and killers,” she said.


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