A telling admission from President Joe Biden’s former Border Patrol Chief encapsulated the administration’s concern of the worsening crisis.
“That’s a problem.”
Biden and former President Donald Trump weren’t alone in taking trips to the U.S.-Mexico border in recent days as CBS News’ “60 Minutes” made “Operation Lone Star” a focal point of its latest episode.
Along with interviews of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Christopher Olivarez about the state’s efforts to defend national sovereignty, journalist Cecilia Vega spoke with former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, who himself had never heard from the White House.
“I’ve never had one conversation with the president, or the vice president for that matter. And so, I was the chief of the Border Patrol. I commanded 21,000 people. That’s a problem,” he told Vega.
“I’ve never had one conversation with the president or the vice president for that matter… That’s a problem,” says Raul Ortiz, the U.S. Border Patrol chief under President Biden until he retired last year. pic.twitter.com/bWoZkFbnVc
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 4, 2024
Advancing from his role as a deputy chief during the Trump administration to chief in Aug. 2021, Ortiz’s tenure through his retirement in May 2023 began months after Vice President Kamala Harris was handed the role of border czar for Biden.
While Harris spent Sunday concerning herself with the borders of Gaza and calling for an “immediate ceasefire,” Ortiz also took a shot at Abbott with a dig at the governor’s focus on Eagle Pass, Texas.
“When agencies are making a decision based upon politics or whether they can get media coverage — hey, we’re gonna put all our personnel in this two-mile stretch — what about the other 200 miles?” wondered the former official.
For his part, Abbott defended his legal battle with the federal government over the use of razor wire and told Vega, “As governor of the state of Texas, I have the authority to control ingress and egress to any land in the state of Texas. For another, this land we’re on right now was used by the federal government to further illegal activity, and I wanted to put a stop to it.”
The governor also defended the use of the term ‘invasion’ and explained, “Invasion is the word that’s used in the United States Constitution, ‘invasion’ or ‘imminent danger.’ I use ’em both. And we are in imminent danger because of what the drug cartels do every single day, because of the known and unknown terrorists who cross every single day.”
Abbott’s efforts against the apparent complacency of the federal government were bolstered yet again over the weekend when Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) joined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in sending additional National Guard members to help secure the border.
Ortiz, who was in charge when thousands of Haitian nationals were seen gathered under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, and when agents were falsely accused of whipping illegal aliens, had been deemed “a joke” by agents under his command after his 2023 retirement.
“He’s conveniently getting out so he can wipe his hands clean of any wrongdoing or blame,” an agent had said at the time.
The former chief went on to tell Vega that to fix the problem, “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.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- CNN’s Jim Acosta snaps over how Trump adviser Lewandowski keeps pronouncing ‘Kamala’ - October 2, 2024
- Crazier than fiction! Head of Iranian spy group was an Israeli double agent - October 2, 2024
- Kamala Harris’s husband accused of 2012 assault of ex-girlfriend - October 2, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.