The border situation continues to reach critical mass as Democrats blame Republicans, sanctuary cities crumble, and America’s patience wears thin. The enormous budget boondoggle proposed by Democrats failed, and now the blame game is being played in full effect by the left. Biden blames Republicans, Mayorkas blames Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Americans blame the White House, yet no tangible progress is on the horizon.
Recently, a former high-ranking official in the Biden Administration made some critical remarks about the current administration regarding the border. Raul Ortiz, the former head of the U.S,. Border Patrol made some stunning comments on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, casting new doubt on Biden’s commitment to securing the border.
Raul, who served as the US chief of the Border Patrol for two years before retiring last May, ripped leaders in Washington for making the border a political game, but he specifically took aim at Biden and Harris. Ortiz claimed neither Biden nor Kamala Harris ever met with him during his tenure, sending mixed messages as to their intentions regarding immigration.
During the sit-down, Ortiz claimed, “I’ve never had one conversation with the president or vice president.” He said of the lack of communication, “I was the chief of the Border Patrol, I commanded 21,000 people. That’s a problem.” Ortiz was in charge during one of the most significant surges in American history.
During his tenure, Ortiz oversaw the mass influx that ensued when Title 42 ended, including the Del Rio bridge encampment that featured 15,000 Haitians in a suspiciously organized assault. In a shockingly non-partisan moment, CBS’s Cecilia Vega asked Ortiz if the White House was sending mixed messages to migrants, to which he replied, “Yes, most definitely.”
Indeed, many of the first waves of migrants when Biden took office were wearing “Biden” t-shirts and carrying signs praising Joe Biden. Ortiz said the United States needed to be more explicit in its messaging to migrants. He said: “We need to make sure that Central America, South America, Mexico, that those regions understand that if you pay a smuggler and you cross in between the ports of entry and you do not have a legitimate claim to some sort of asylum benefit, you’re gonna be sent back.”
Watch Ortiz here:
A larger Q&A with Texas Governor Greg Abbott followed Ortiz’s startling comments. The Lone Star State Governor, long a critic of Biden’s handling of the border, eventually took matters into his own hands, deploying soldiers and officers in an attempt to stem the flow of illegal migrants. Abbott claimed “the authority to control ingress and egress to any land in the state of Texas,” which the federal government eventually attempted to usurp.
It is an ugly scene at the southern border. However, the ugliness has seeped into liberal cities and states, and residents aren’t as tolerant as they pretended to be. New York City is rethinking its sanctuary policies, and many cities are at its end with the influx of migrants. It is further proof that voting has consequences, and hopefully, Americans remember in November.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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