(The Center Square) – As a record number of people are pouring through the southwest border in what is believed to be the greatest number of illegal border crossings in U.S. history this month, the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security released the latest transcripts of interviews it conducted with Border Patrol chiefs as part of its year-long investigation into U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, building its case to impeach him. The interviews were conducted between April and September, prior to the unprecedented surges occurring in Arizona and Texas.
The interviews “confirm the historic crisis at the Southwest border has affected the operations of Border Patrol agents in the field and limited their ability to conduct their homeland security mission, leading to more gotaways and the increased risk these individuals represent, as well as more drugs being smuggled by the criminal cartels across the border,” committee chairman U.S. Rep. Mark Green, MD, R-Tenn., said.
This is the fourth report on the transcripts, highlighting Arizona chiefs’ testimony. The first report covered how “illegal aliens are spreading the word the border is open.” The second covered the issue of agents being reassigned to process and release “illegal aliens into the country rather than patrolling the border between ports of entry.” The third addressed challenges facing California agents.
Arizona had more than 775,000 illegal border crossers in fiscal 2023, The Center Square first reported. Its 378 miles of shared border with Mexico are divided into two U.S. Customs and Border Protection sectors: Tucson and Yuma. Tucson Sector’s 262-border miles extend from the Yuma County line to the Arizona-New Mexico state line. Yuma Sector’s nearly 182,000 square miles of primarily desert terrain extends from Imperial Sand Dunes in California to the Yuma-Pima County line.
Surges of people illegally entering impact agents’ ability to identify and catch gotaways, those illegally entering to avoid detection. The committee confirmed in its report that there were at least 1.7 million gotaways who illegally entered nationwide since President Joe Biden first took office, data The Center Square first reported. Former Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz previously testified before Congress that gotaways are underreported by between 10% and 20%; officials don’t know who they are, how many or where they are.
Former Del Rio Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Jason Owens, who is now the Chief of Border Patrol, said, “If my men and women are stuck in a humanitarian effort of processing these folks, they cannot be in two places at once. They cannot be out on patrol. And, where I need them out on patrol is to not only account for those gotaways but to reduce them, where possible. Everything revolves … around having those men and women on the ground doing the job.
“The major concern for us, is the border security mission. Our true adversary, the smugglers, while we’re tied up with this humanitarian effort, what are they doing around the bend that we can’t be there to respond to? Is that where they’re crossing dangerous narcotics? Is that where they’re crossing convicted felons? That is what keeps us up at night.”
Tucson Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent John Modlin explained why apprehensions are important. “When we make an arrest, we can then vet that person and find out, if they have a criminal history, if there are national security concerns. Gotaways are a public safety concern, … potentially a national security concern.”
Tucson Sector reported the third-highest number of illegal entries along the southwest border, behind El Paso and Del Rio sectors in Texas. The majority illegally entering the Tucson Sector are primarily single, military age men, Modlin told Congress earlier this year.
“The smuggling organizations to our south are very well organized and resourceful,” he said, referring to Mexican cartels. “Each and every person crossing through the Tucson Sector must pay these criminal organizations. The migrants we encounter are completely outfitted in camouflage by the smuggling organizations before they cross. Most run from and fight our agents to avoid apprehension. Many are previously deported felons who know they are inadmissible to the United States and many pose a serious threat to our communities.”
Yuma Sector Deputy Chief Border Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle said the sector’s three interior checkpoints are critical for interdicting gotaways, but “the majority of Fiscal Year ’22 and even really up until May of this year, our checkpoints were down.” This opened up “freedom of movement,” he said. “For any criminal organization to be successful, they require freedom of movement, and that is key to being able [to move] people or “dangerous narcotics, weapons, cash, whatever it is. Any time that’s impeded, it has an impact.”
He also said narcotics interdictions were up in his sector because the checkpoints at the time of the interview were fully operational. The sector “is not a well-known narcotic corridor,” he said. “Again, it’s mostly a human smuggling-type corridor. Those are clearly defined with the cartels, but fentanyl is up. Cocaine is up. Heroin is up.”
In response to their answers, Green asked, “How many others have slipped by as Border Patrol agents have increasingly been pulled off the line to process illegal aliens crossing the border? How many violent criminals and gang members are now at large in our communities? Border security is national security, and right now, the border is not secure. When upwards of two million people have entered our country, whom we know nothing about, we are at deadly risk. Secretary Mayorkas must be held accountable for this national security malpractice.”
Depending on who you believe, upwards of 10 MILLION illegal “migrants” from 165 countries have poured over the border since Babbling Biden stole the Presidency, with no attempt whatsoever to even slow it down.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
I’m afraid we’ll be finding that out in the not-too-distant future….
Everyone seems to be ignoring the twenty plus million who are already here, and started coming in around 1986 when congress screwed the pooch. Every single one of them needs to be removed from our country…
What makes me lauhgh on that, is liberals seem to think they CAN FIND AND confiscate all 300+ million firearms in the hands of the people (INC GANGS), but some how feel we CAN’T find and kick out 20+ million illegals..
SInce it took only 19 folks to do 9/11, AND ONE TO DO FORT HOOD, how can folks NOT SEE A MASSIVE ISSUE With millions of gotaways AND UNFETTERED OPEN BORDERS?!!?!?
Unless they WANT BAD things to happen!
Cant’s stop people from coming. Lifting sanctions would help. We need to figure how to best place and get people blended in. Certainly didn’t stop us. Actually, US may need bump in population.
Socialists like you sound like are good at lecturing others what they should do but would holler bloody murder if govt made you sacrifice good portion of your wages, benefits, private property & lifestyle to house hundreds of indigent unidentified foreign speaking illegal aliens in your neighborhood to overrun your schools & health care facilities at your expense.
Hell, i’ve heard some liberals say “The govt needs to invoke Eminent Domain, and Seize everyone’s second/holiday/rental homes, to house migrants in…”
Like they believe NO AMERICAN should ever own a 2nd home.. HOW DARE THEY.
This treasonous Joe Barack Obiden administration is diverting funding for the U.S. Veteran Administration for illegal immigrant health care.
Make no mistake – Democrats created this problem. Biden and Democrats are only feigning interest in securing the border now because it is an election year. If Joe Biden actually wanted to secure our border, then he could have simply left the Trump border policies in place or reversed his own extreme policies by now. He has done neither.
Now Biden is adding insult to injury. Media reports indicate that the border is in such chaos that the Biden administration is using resources from the VA to facilitate healthcare for illegal aliens. This is a slap in the face to our veterans and to the taxpayer.
People around the world know that they can simply waltz into our country, go to a blue state, and get free healthcare, free education, drivers’ licenses and even cash benefits. Meanwhile, the people of this country work hard, pay taxes and face rising prices for just about everything.
How the hell would impeaching Mayorkas or even Biden do anything to remove the multi millions of illegal aliens costing US citizens $300-400 billion plus a year?
Any Dem Party prez, Biden or other, would just put another Mayorkas in charge of border.
Congress must be somehow forced by we citizens to create law to immediately stop accepting any asylum claims & start refusing entry using military force.
If aliens are forced to remain on Mexico side they will eventually start dispersing or Mexico can take care of them.
Force is only way to stop the unending foreign invasion that Congress has idiotically & even purposely allowed to overwhelm us creating unnecessary & immense pressure on our economy & our societal cohesion via balkanization.
This horrible situation will not be fixed by so-called immigration reform, aka just more amnesty & pathway to citizenship nonsense, that Dem & GOP subversives in Congress keep wanting to force on US citizens who would rather take care of our own citizens rather than millions of mostly Socialist indoctrinated or hostile foreign aliens who figured out our govt is ok with letting them just walk into our country & demand to be taken care of at our expense.
AND FOR GOD SAKE< STOP the bloody welfare and other govt handouts to illegals.. PERIOD!