Four retired Border Patrol chiefs call situation 'grave' and warn criminals are 'capitalizing' on it


Four retired Border Patrol chiefs call situation ‘grave’ and warn ‘criminal organizations are capitalizing on the crisis’ as unaccompanied minors and families distract agents from more dangerous crossers

  •  The retired Chiefs of the United States Border Patrol were joined by five former Chief Patrol Agents in writing a letter to Congress
  • The former Border Patrol officials urged Congress to address the ‘broken immigration system’
  •  The letter was signed by Border Patrol Chiefs: David V. Aguilar, Ronald Vitiello, Ms. Carla Provost, and Michael Fisher

Four former Border Patrol chiefs called the situation ‘grave’ and warned that ‘criminal organizations are capitalizing on this crisis’ in a first-of-its-kind letter on Wednesday.

The retired Chiefs of the United States Border Patrol were joined by five former Chief Patrol Agents in writing a letter to Congress urging them to address the ‘broken immigration system.’

The letter is reportedly addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Former chief patrol agent Roy Villareal, who signed the letter, said ''there is a monumental border issue at the border right now'

Former chief patrol agent Roy Villareal, who signed the letter, said ”there is a monumental border issue at the border right now’

Asylum seekers, most from Honduras, walk towards a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico on Tuesday

Asylum seekers, most from Honduras, walk towards a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico on Tuesday

People are seen on a raft at the U.S.-Mexico border, early on Wednesday in Roma, Texas

People are seen on a raft at the U.S.-Mexico border, early on Wednesday in Roma, Texas

‘On behalf of retired Chiefs of the United States Border Patrol, we write with grave concern regarding the current crisis on the southwest border,’ reads the letter.

‘It is time to address our broken immigration system as well as the push and pull factors encouraging mass migration, and its impacts on border security.’

The letter continued: ‘The cycle of broken immigration crises must be a priority for Congress. The patchwork system in place continues to fail us all.’

‘Criminal organizations are capitalizing on this crisis, exploiting these vulnerable unaccompanied children and their families while at the same time utilizing this distraction to overwhelm front-line Border Patrol agents,’ the letter added.

The letter was signed by Border Patrol Chiefs: David V. Aguilar, Ronald Vitiello, Ms. Carla Provost, and Michael Fisher.

Villareal, who retired in December, told Fox News that ‘there is a monumental border issue at the border right now that is going to overwhelm the capabilities of the Border Patrol.’

‘It’s going to cause our system to shut down because as these populations increase, the unaccompanied children, the family units takes away from the ability to do effective border security,’ he said.

Karisch told CNN: ‘This is a problem we’ve had for many years.’

‘Look back at 2014 with the unaccompanied children crisis. We didn’t have the infrastructure then. We definitely were suffering from that same problem under the previous administration,’ he said.

‘This is something that both sides keep pointing fingers at, but unfortunately it’s the agents in the field that are having to deal with a very serious issue but one that also takes them away from their law enforcement responsibilities.’ 

Former Border Patrol leaders wrote an unprecedented letter to Congress urging them to prioritize the border crisis

Former Border Patrol leaders wrote an unprecedented letter to Congress urging them to prioritize the border crisis

On Sunday, it was revealed that Customs and Border Protection was considering a plan to release migrants who crossed the border illegally without first giving them a court date to reappear.

Texas immigration authorities have since been releasing a growing number of migrants from custody into the United States, ABC News reported.

The move means that the burden and responsibility of returning for an asylum hearing is placed on the migrants themselves.

Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar told the outlet: ‘They released about 150 people, families, without even a notice to appear. I’ve never seen that before.’ 

The news came as Biden officials are blaming the former Trump administration for the border crisis and the number of unaccompanied minors now in custody swelled to more than 15,000 over the weekend. 

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