Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz emphasized the need for Trump-era policies to control the southern border during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing from the border city of McAllen, Texas, Wednesday.
The Biden administration ended a number of Trump-era policies, such as restricting asylum and focusing on deportations. Bringing back such an agreement and others, like “Remain in Mexico,” which allows federal border authorities to turn away migrants back to Mexico, where they are forced to await their asylum proceedings, would help with border security, Ortiz said.(RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Red Cross Packets Show Migrants Where To Cross The US Border)
Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz tells Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee that border authorities need Trump-era policies such as “Remain in Mexico” to secure the southern border pic.twitter.com/XbiPzazuGj
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 15, 2023
“Once again, whatever consequences, you can call it Migrant Protection Protocols, you can call it Remain in Mexico, you can call it a safe third country. All of the tools that the Border Patrol and DHS [Department of Homeland Security] have at their disposal are going to allow us to do a better job of managing this border,” Ortiz said.
NEW from @RepBrecheen:
Chief Ortiz DISAGREES with President Biden’s decision to shut down border wall construction. pic.twitter.com/VSqWgRrNSM
— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) March 15, 2023
Ortiz also said that he disagreed with Biden’s earlier decision to halt construction of a wall along the southern border.
At the start of the hearing, Ortiz testified that DHS lacks “operational control” of the U.S.-Mexico border. He also said that more than 385,000 illegal migrants crossed the border into the U.S. “got away” from federal authorities since October.
Amid the surge in illegal migration, the Biden administration is said to be considering bringing back some Trump administration policies and has already with the expansion of Title 42, which the previous president implemented to quickly expel certain illegal migrants to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
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