The Daily Signal - Trump Border Chief Reveals 'Invasion' at Southern Border

Episode Date: February 8, 2022

The crisis on our southern border continues to get worse by the day, critics say. Washington's failure to control illegal immigration is resulting in an influx of drugs and gang violence that makes the country less safe. Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the Trump administration, is furious that a solid southern border has been transformed into the Wild West in the first year of the Biden administration. "President [Joe] Biden inherited the most secure border in our lifetime, and with the stroke of a political pen from Day One, he started to systematically dismantle it," says Morgan, now a visiting fellow in national security at The Heritage Foundation, parent organization of The Daily Signal. "And as each month in the past year has gone by," he says, "the border has become less secure and our country has become less safe because of this administration's, I believe, ideologic and politically driven open-border policies." Morgan joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss how the border crisis affects Americans, and what can be done to fix it. We also cover these stories. The trucker protest in Canada, called the Freedom Convoy, is up against government opposition. New Jersey and Delaware announce timelines for ending school mask mandates. Rumble offers to pay podcaster Joe Rogan $100 million over four years to move to its platform from Spotify. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I equate that their strength, their influence, their capability, their capacity to that of a terrorist organization. That was Mark Morgan, former acting commissioner for the United States Customs and Border Protection. And this is the Daily Signal podcast for Tuesday, February 8th. I'm Mary Margaret Ollahan. And I'm Virginia Allen. The crisis on our southern border continues to get worse by the day. failures from Washington to control illegal immigration are resulting in an influx of drugs and gang violence that make the country less safe. Mark Morgan is a Heritage Foundation Visiting Fellow.

And today, Morgan talks with Doug Blair about how the Biden administration has prolonged this crisis and how we can get our southern border back on track. But before we get to Doug's conversation with Commissioner Mark Morgan, let's hit our top stories of the day. The trucker protest in Ottawa, Canada, known as the Freedom Convoy, is facing government opposition. The convoy began at the end of January to protest Canada's vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. Hundreds of trucks and vehicles have joined the caravan to protest the vaccine mandate and other COVID-19 restrictions. But on Sunday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency because of the convoy, saying Ottawa is in the most serious emergency our city has ever faced. The Ottawa police issued a warning Monday that anyone found bringing fuel to the demonstration trucks in the red zone could be subject to

arrest and charges. The police announced that they have already arrested seven people involved in the convoy and another 100 have been issued tickets. Fox News spoke with a number of the truckers in that convoy. Here's what one of the men had to say about why he's participating. We're not anti-vax, we're not anti-anything other than anti-mandate, if you will. That's what it's about. The message is freedom for every Canadian. The Freedom Convoy has attracted even more attention in recent days after the crowdfund platform GoFundMe shut down a fundraiser for the truckers. The truckers are now using the Christian platform Go Send Me to raise support for the convoy. As the country attempts to accept that living with COVID is the number.

new normal, both New Jersey and Delaware have announced timelines to end school mask mandates. New Jersey's mask mandate for schools and child care centers ends on March 7th, the state's Republican Governor Phil Murphy announced on Monday. The governor cited declines in COVID cases and increased vaccinations, noting that Omicron has been found to be less severe than other variants, according to CNN. Masking continues to be an important tool to prevent the spread of COVID, said Murphy. Delaware Governor John Carney, a Democrat, also announced that the state's mask mandate will end February 11th, CNN reported. School mask mandates will end March 31st.

We're in a much better place than we were several weeks ago in the middle of the Omicron surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Karnie said. One mother who spoke out against school mask mandates in Virginia told the daily signal that children are being shamed and punished by the mandates. Here's what she had to say. My children have to sit six feet away from their peers. If they are doing a group project, they have to put on a face shield, which is a face covering. If they cannot sit six feet away, they have to have a plexiglass shield around their desk. So they are at story time or in library, and they have to sit far away and cannot be with their friends. They cannot see the pictures and the books.

They are being targeted. They are being bullied by their leaders, by their principals, by their superintendent, by their teachers. they're being shamed and punished. Podcaster Joe Rogan received a big offer on Monday. The podcast platform Rumble says they will pay Rogen $100 million over the course of four years if he moves the Joe Rogan Experience podcast from Spotify to Rumble. Spotify currently has an exclusive deal with Joe Rogen, but Spotify has come under fire recently for content on the podcast.

Controversy over Rogan's podcast, began in January after he aired an interview with Dr. Robert Malone on COVID-19. The situation escalated again last week when a video surfaced of Rogan using racial slurs. He has apologized for his use of the N-word and pulled a number of episodes down from Spotify. But Rogan has clarified that he was quoting others when he used the racial slurs. But Rumble is offering Rogan the chance to leave Spotify altogether and join its pro freedom of speech podcast platform. But Spotify still appears to want Rogan's podcast. Spotify CEO Daniel Eck said in a memo Sunday that while I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past

episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more. And I want to make one point very clear. I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. It's unclear what Rogan plans to do, but the podcaster has not indicated that he has any plans to break his contract with Spotify. Now stay tuned for Doug's conversation with former acting customs and border protection commissioner Mark Morgan, as they discuss the crisis on our southern border. Never has it been more important for us to fight for America. Each day we see the penalties of progressive policies across our country.

our nation. Our elections are under assault. Our economic freedom is on the decline, and our culture is turning its back on the founding principles that have made us the freest, most prosperous nation in history. That's why the Heritage Foundation developed a plan to take on the left and take back our country. The Citizens Guide to Fight for America provides a series of heritage-recommended action items delivered on a regular basis to your inbox. Make an impact in your community and in our country. Sign up for the Citizens Guide at heritage.org slash citizens guide and join in the fight for America today.

My guest today is Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection under President Trump and a Heritage Foundation visiting fellow. Commissioner, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me, Doug. So, Mark, let's begin with a status update on America's border. What does it look like right now under President Biden? Is it good, bad? What are we saying?

It is absolutely. 100% the wild, wild west. And let me put it in perspective. President Biden inherited the most secure border in our lifetime. And with a stroke of a political pin from day one, he started to systematically dismantle it. And as each month in the past year has gone by, the borders become less secure and our country has become less safe because of this administration's, I believe, ideological and politically driven open border policies. One of the things that really wanted me to have you on the show was you recently covered a piece for The Daily Signal, and that piece was titled, Is Biden Complying with Court Order to Bring Back Remain in Mexico Policy?

So first off, for our listeners who maybe aren't aware of what that is, what is the remain in Mexico policy. Yeah, so, Doug, this is very important. So, you know, I often talk about the network of tools, authorities, and policies that President Trump gave us to that really allowed the border tool to do their job and secure the border and safeguard this country. One of the most significant authorities, tools that we had was what we referred to as the Migrant Protection Protocol. Most people know that as a Remain in Mexico program. What that did was

is it closed one of those significant loopholes we had. It was based on a lower court judicial activist case, I believe, which says if you came to our borders an uncompany minor or a family, the government couldn't detain you. So that's what started what everybody knows is catch or release. I mean, if you came to our border with your family, that kid was like your automatic passport in the United States, and they were at least never be heard from again. That was one of the biggest factors of the crisis we saw in 2019, that onslaught of families coming mainly from Northern Triangle countries. Well, the remain in Mexico closed that loophole down.

It put integrity back in the system. And by February of 2020, we saw a 75% reduction in illegal alien families come to our border because of that one program. It worked. It was effective. And the first day this administration ended the program. So we're seeing that as soon as those policies went out of the window, the numbers one up again. That's exactly right. That was one of a series of things they did, but that was a

significant one that really overnight is why we saw this onslaught of families once again come to our border and they were allowed in and never to be heard from again. But as you mentioned, there was an incredible court case, which I actually participated in. It was Texas and Missouri that sued the federal government and they won. And so the court ordered the Biden administration to re-implement the Remain of Mexico program. I believe they have not done so in good faith. It's It's a joke what they're doing right now. Can you elaborate on that? Yeah, sure.

So look, again, let's go back to the whole purpose of the Remainting Mexico program was to stem the flow, was to close that loophole that was created that allowed families, you know, their passport in the United States. And again, it was mainly on families. So there's a couple of things going on. Right now, in December, let me give you the numbers. In December's under the new reinstitute Romaine to Mexico program, they enrolled 267. Now, let's put that in perspective.

How many apprehensions do we have in December? 178,000. Right, of course, right? That's what everybody does. It's a drop in the bucket. It's a joke. And then, guess what? They enrolled not a single family.

I mean, the entire genesis behind the Remainte Mexico program was to actually close that loopholes that is presented to families. They didn't enroll a single family. And then the majority of your families are coming from where? The Northern Triangle countries. So they only enrolled single adults where? From outside of the Northern Triangle countries. It's a joke.

It's having absolutely no impact. I believe they're defying the court order. They're not acting in good faith. And I hope that Texas and Missouri still pushes this to hold them accountable. So let's follow up on this. How is the Biden administration justifying this because it seems very difficult for you to say we're complying with this order and then just not? Yeah. I mean, they're just simply saying they're reporting back that what they're really using is Mexico, right?

So think about this. They keep saying that Mexico is the problem. Mexico has to approve this. Mexico is not accepting the people. I believe that's disingenuous at best, Doug. Look, one of the first things that this administration did, what we have is we had leverage. Look, let's remember what President Trump did. Remember a little thing called tariffs, right?

I mean, he used that to get leverage. He used that to get Mexico to step up to really get some skin in the game and act as if this is the regional crisis that it is. And based on that, it wasn't a threat. It was a promise. President Trump would have done it. But what happened? Mexico stepped up. They started enforcing their southern border.

They started increasing their interior enforcement. At one point, they had over 20,000 troops and law enforcement personnel, and their interior attack on this issue. And what did the Biden administration do? They absolutely jettison every bit of leverage they had. You have seen Mexico now, they are not secure in their southern border, their Interior enforcement has dramatically decreased because they know that this administration is weak, and they know they're the ones actually encouraging this.

So there are almost external consequences to this as well. If Mexico is now taking matters into their own hands and they're just saying, we're not going to enforce it either. Why would we do that if America wasn't doing it? That's exactly. In fact, the president has said something very similar to that. And I got to agree with him. He's like, wait a minute, wait a minute. It is the current America's administration right now that is actually encouraging and incentivize and facilitating

the flow of illegal immigration. Why should we step in the way now when it's the United States that's actually facilitating it? I think he's right. Absolutely. So I wanted to mention you talked about two states that maybe are going to take action against the Biden administration. Could you go into that a little further? Yeah. So on this specific incident, it's Texas and Missouri, my home state, that got involved in joined together and they won this.

And the judge really was on the procedural act. They said that they actually didn't end the program within the procedural act. But it was more than that because the judge also really went after Secretary of Myericus' jugular, as I call it, because he really said that the secretary failed to consider several factors that showed that the Remainting Mexico program was effective, that actually stemmed the flow. And he accused the secretary of not considering other initiatives that should be taken to actually address the fraudulent asylum class. that again, the Romanian Mexico program did and help reduce that fraud. But here's what's more important besides just substantively making this administration

pre-institute Romanian-Mexico program is that Missouri was involved. And why is that important? Because for one of the first times, it showed, and the judge recognized this, that what happens on our southwest border doesn't stay there. It's why I've been saying it's equally as important that Missouri was involved as the substance of the wind because it shows that every single. city town in this country is a border town city and state. Is that what happens to southwest border doesn't stay there. It goes out to every single state in this country. So as a result of that

lawsuit, what happens now? Where does the Biden administration go? Look, they're continue to argue that they are pushing the program in good faith. As I say, I disagree with that. So now it is Texas and Missouri going back, holding their feet to the fire and trying to show the court why they believe that they are not complying in good faith that the court order and hold. people accountable and force them to actually implement this. Right now, I mean, I believe they're only implemented in one sector, maybe two of the nine sectors along the entire 2,000 miles. Like you said, 260 people in a month out of 170,000 apprehension.

It's a joke. So you mentioned Secretary Majorcas. How would you rate his performance so far? Is there anything worse than an F? Hey, keep in mind. Here's which is absolutely absurd. And the listeners, I really encourage them. It shouldn't take him long.

You know, research one of his congressional testimony where he was asked to grade himself. I know, wait for it. This would be shocker. He gave himself an A. Oh, my. Right? I mean, we are experiencing the worst catastrophic crisis on our southwest border that is literally killing Americans, right? And our border, it literally is the Wild Wild West.

And this secretary gives himself an A. It's just absolute absurd. Now, one of the things that I've noticed about Secretary of Mariarcas is he seemingly stood behind Border Patrol. There's an incident I really want to talk about, which was the Haitian migrants incident, where there was an accusation that Border Patrol agents were whipping Haitian migrants with their reins for the horses, which was proven later to be a lie. And initially, he stood behind them and said that this was something that, you know, they wouldn't do, but then quickly bowed to the left and said, well, they probably did. We're going to launch an investigation.

How does that affect morale with Border Patrol agents when your secretary is telling you you're racist and you're whipping Haitian migrants? Yeah, Doug. Look, you hit a couple very important things. here, especially in the very beginning, because you're right. He was saying what you would expect, by the way, a former prosecutor, right? This man knows, right, that you're supposed to let the investigation unfold. You're not supposed to come up with preconceived notions or make preliminary statements. You're supposed to let the investigation unfold. And when he was down there, by the way, in front of the troops still, that's what he said. And less than, I think it was 16 hours,

He'd returned to D.C. and he completely changed. Right? So he got to his handlers, just like the president has his handlers, and he completely changed. He turned in to the judge, jury, and executioner all in one. And he was a former prosecutor. He knows better. Shame on him. He vilified the agents.

He scapegoated them. He ruined their reputation in their career. And then he facilitated. And what he should have done as the secretary-cabinet-level official, he should have gone to the White House and said, well, whoa, time out. Time out, Mr. President. Don't do this. Don't go out and vilify them because the facts aren't there.

And right now, the facts are suggesting there was no whipping. Right. Right. But yet he allowed the president of the United States to get out there and use a bully pit, but to also chastise and vilify these agents. Look, I was the commissioner of CBP, not a cabinet-level official, but it's pretty high up there. And I'm going to tell you, if that would have been getting my way to the White House

to tell them, do not let the president vilify these agents. One, it's not the right thing to do, regardless of the circumstances, Let the investigation pan out, but it was in fact not true. And here's another thing I'll say. It's not just Secretary of Marikas. Where was the Border T's chief? Chief Ortiz. Where is he?

31 years serving this country in the Border Patrol. Where was he to stand up to support them, to be the relentless advocate of the men and women that he is supposed to oversee? He remained silent. I don't care what his justification or rationale was. That was wrong. And so not only was this really the beginning, in addition to all the policies they removed, that the workforce started to lose respect and trust and confidence in the secretary, but also their chief. What I'm gathering from this conversation so far is that there seems to be a pretty massive difference

between how the former Trump administration handled matters of immigration and border security versus how the Biden administration is handling matters of border security and our immigration system. Where would you say that that is the most pronounced? Yeah. So again, I think there's something very important that you said in there. You've clearly done your homework and you understand this issue. You said border security. Border security. That's what this is about, Doug.

It's not about illegal immigration only. Illegal immigration is just a subset of the vast, complex threat, a set of threats that we face from outside of borders. This is about border security first. Look, President Trump understood that this is about border security. He subscribed the Ronald Reagan concept, right, that a country that cannot secure its borders is, not a country at all. If you look back from 1986 forward, every time there was discussion politically

about amnesty, law enforcement officer, I can't support that. I can never support rewarding someone who broke the law, but understand there's got to be some political discussions about that. But what was always in the forefront before amnesty was border security, right? The 1986 bill that talked about amnesty, the first thing that talked about was border security. Now, neither was done very well. But ever since then, there was always, whenever you had this other talk about amnesty and other immigration reform. It was always first and foremost about border security. We are now in a position.

This is the first time in our lifetime. It is so radical, so progressive. They are talking about open borders and amnesty without one word discussion about border security. The mass amnesty that they tried to ram, jam through, right, through the reconciliation process, which I believe was unconstitutional outside the parameters and policy, three attempts they took a trying to get mass amnesty,

not one discussion about border security. Right. So that was the biggest difference is we understood the importance of border security. We understood that what happens in the southwest border impacted every town, city, and state. And so we were taking policies, initiatives, and tools to secure the border to protect this country. I'll give an example. Look, when you take and you facilitate and drive, two million apprehensions in a 12-month period, you're pulling border patrol resources off the front line, off their national security mission.

That leads our border wide open, unmonitored, unprotrolled, unsecured. gang members are pouring in, drugs are pouring in, criminal aliens are pouring in, and we have an exponential increase to national security threat, not only the threat to the migrants themselves. In the last 12 months, over 600 migrants died trying to cross the border. Thousands of them had to be rescued. Sexual assaults increased human trafficking increases. Look, the worst thing that you can do both the United States and the migrants themselves is to have open border policies that this administration is pushing right now. Now, you focused very heavily on border security, but there's something else that was so impactful about what you just said, which is the actual. security of the people involved in the process, both the migrants and the Americans on the

other side of the border. So, Mark, I'd love to talk to you about drugs and how drugs at the southern border is becoming such a horrible issue. So I want to read you a quote, there was enough fentanyl seized in Texas last year, according to Governor Greg Abbott, to kill 222 million Americans and that Biden does not care. That is, again, Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Would you agree with that sentiment? 100%. And here's why I draw the same conclusion that he doesn't care. He cares more right, about pursuing and satisfying the radical open border ideologues and his political party than what's in the best interest in this country.

And how can I draw that conclusion, Doug? Let me give you just one fact. 100,000 drug overdoses in this country in a 12-month period. 100,000. Let that so get. That is more than the deaths of the Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. wars combined. And those wars lasted decades. Think about that. And we know that the vast majority of drugs that are coming in, poisoning our kids, killing 100,000 people come from the southwest

border. I promise you, if you have a meth overdose, you pick the city, you pick the state. That meth, more than likely, came from the southwest border. Fentanyl, look, we know that it takes a very little amount. We know that it's being produced in Mexico, that they're putting in fentanyl and other synthetic drugs. And we know that, look, all these people that died from drug overdoses, they're not bad people. They're not drugies. They're not these bad people that some people associate with them. Look, I talked to an angel family, you know, her daughter, 15 years old, went to a party. She was kind of depressed and down like a lot of 15 year olds can be, right? And she was offered what she thought was Perkissette, right? Well, guess what? It was a lace with fentanyl.

First time she had ever taken pill, she died. That's what's happening. So shouldn't this be an American thing to secure our borders? How did this become a right or left thing to secure our borders, to stop drugs from pouring in this country, right? Every single day, drugs are pouring in this country and making their way to every town city and say, I'll give you a quick example. So just last week, about 13 governors, AG Paxson of Texas invited about 13 Attorney General's from all over, including interior states. And there's one from Oklahoma. And he said, I didn't realize. My eyes were open about how the drugs pour across and then it's so well organized that it hits I-35 or I-40 and makes her way to Oklahoma, of which the cartels have divided the entire state

of Oklahoma up into regions to distribute their drugs. Is it, shouldn't we all be against that? I just don't get this administration. So what it sounds like is that there's a rather robust operation that is coming from the south and moving drugs into America. Is this like worse than we've seen in previous years? Is this increased due to this administration's lax policies? Absolutely.

Look, it's a multi-million dollar business per day. And look, I equate what's happening right now, Southwest Border, as an invasion. And it's an invasion that is being driven by what the cartels, which I refer to as a shadow government. I equate that their strength, their influence, their capability, their capacity to that of a terrorist organization. Look, ISIS has nothing on the cartels.

And they're just driven rather than by ideology to do harm to the United States. They're driven by profit that's doing harm to the United States. But there's no difference to them at the end of the day with respect to the orchestrated, systematic hostile encroachment that's causing harm to our country every single day. You spoke a little bit about this, but on a personal anecdote, I come from Portland, Oregon, which has an awful, awful, awful problem with drugs. It's also practically legal there, which is near going to there. They also have an awful awful problem with their leadership there.

Yes, that absolutely 100% agree with you. And I have friends who are from the Rust Belt who are going through these horrible, horrible problems with opioids. Does this influx of narcotics coming from the South impact that at all? Absolutely. Every single day. Look, you'll see it with prices, right? When you flood, prices will go down, right? But again, I go back to how it's structured.

So put it simplistically. over simplifying, but the drugs come across, and then the entities that are the distribution mechanism of the cartels are the gangs, right? I mean, this is a very, you know, at times it may not be as structured as one would think, but there is structure. There's a system of payment that goes all the way from the cartels, all the way down to the local drug dealer on the corner within your city and streets. So I guarantee you, if you're seeing a drug problem in curate,

in your city, it's because of it's coming across the Southwest border and the border is less secure. Now, security also plays into safety. So I want to talk about how this problem on the southern border impacts the safety of Americans. What would you have to say about that? Another great question, Doug. Look, I always say what's happening in the Southwest border impacts every aspect of our public health, safety, and national security. Right. And so we've been talking about the drugs.

So let's now talk about the next issue. Again, when you pull border troll agents off the line to have to process two million apprehensions in 12 months, think about that. There are areas along the border where there are times not a single agent on the front line, not a single agent because they're pulled off to process two million illegal aliens. Well, what do you think the cartels do? First of all, they do it on purpose. So they'll put a bunch of kids and families in a stash house and then they'll wait. I saw it this weekend with my own eyes. I was in a Cal in Texas, and you saw it.

So they flood one area with a bunch of rafts and a bunch of migrants. Of course, what's going to have to happen? All the border trail is going to have to go there to process them. What do you think they do? Well, right or left, it's wide open. What do you think's happening? That's where the drugs are coming across. We talk, but guess what else is also coming across?

Gang members and criminal aliens. Look, in the save 12-month period, 600,000 godaways. Godaways are those that have broken into our country and evaded apprehension. Why? Because the border trail agents are the line. Because they're processed family and kids. 600,000. That's equivalent to the same entire size of the state of Vermont.

Think about that. The entire state of Vermont, broken in our country and got away because our borders are wide open. And guess what? There are really, really bad people among them. And this is where I get called a racist. And I tell you, every time I do, I just get stronger because I know the truth and the truth and it's the reality. I've never said they're all bad, but there's an exorbitant amount

that are. Why are they running and try to evade? I'll give you another stat. The Border Patrol in the same 12-month period apprehended 18,000 criminals. That's what they apprehended, and gang members. So think about that 600,000. Think about how many criminals got away. Think about how many gang members got away. I mean, and there are murderers and rapists and pedophiles and aggravated felons. The list goes on and on. So, of course, this aspect, every aspect of our public safety, because these individuals, they're not staying on the southwest border. They're getting on the highways and they're being smuggled in every city, town, and state in this country. There's a direct correlation. Absolutely. And on that note, you mentioned murders. A Houston cop

was shot, Charles Galloway was shot in Houston, and his murderer was an illegal immigrant with a rap sheet almost a mile long. Is that sort of an example of what you're talking about? Exactly. That's exactly what I'm talking about. So think about that. And he was a gotaway, right? He would be one of those 600,000. Now, look, I don't know when he came in when he got away. I can tell the difference was in a Trump administration, we were trying to stop it. And this administration is actually facilitating it. I mean, 600,000 is the largest number of godaways that I think since it's been recorded. But yet, I mean, when's the last time you heard Jen Pasaki or the DHS Secretary of the President mentioned the number of godaways and that there are criminal.

among them. In fact, when the secretaries ask about that, like how many criminals, he doesn't know. He can't even answer. Right. I mean, how pathetic and absurd is that? I mean, to me, again, they're intentionally lying to the American people. There's two things I want to mention there. Actually, one of the things about the illegal system is that there are people that are known to be illegals that cannot be deported. So, for example, use another news story that happened recently in the nation's capital. We had a rash of swastikas that were drawn on Union Station. It was discovered that the culprit had been deported twice, but was ineligible to be deported under the current structure of deportation.

How does that happen? Yeah. So that's another go. So what we've all been, what we've been talking about so far is really what's happening on the physical border and the policies impacting the border troll to be able to do their job. Now, let's shift to the interior because this we're talking about now. So again, spot on, because there's two things happening.

We've created a welcoming center on the front end and we've created a sanctuary country on the back end. With DHS Secretary Mayericus, which, by the way, is a colossal failure. and he's abdicated all his responsibility to it with respect his oath to safeguard this country. I mean, he really is the DHS Secretary of Homeland Insecurity, right? Is that through his policies, he has basically abolished ice without physically abolishing ice. He has taken away 90% of their interior enforcement authority. And what you just represented is one of just countless cases happen every day.

I could give you another one. An illegal alien that was here. got drunk, killed a young woman because he was drunk. He serves his time. He's done with this time. Sheriff's Department calls ICE. It says, hey, I got this illegal alien that killed somebody. He serves his time as done. And they said, you know, not a priority, according to the secretary. So they released him back in the city. And what? I was almost going to say a bad word. And what planet? Does that make sense? Yeah. Right? It does it. And right now, if you look at ICE historically, 90% of those that ICE arrest in the interior, actually, besides being here illegally, Doug,

they also have either an additional criminal conviction or have been charged. Let that soak in. 90% well before Secretary of America has become secretary. 90% of those that ICE arrest here illegally already have another criminal conviction or arrest. And this secretary has reduced 90% of ICE's interior enforcement. So let's follow the bouncing ball. Don't have to be rock a scientist. That means there is a whole bunch of criminals walking our streets right now because of this secretary and this administration. It's just a fact. It's another reason. Have you seen the ICE deportation report? I was just about to ask you about that. Right. Look, I talked to Tom Holm, another prairie, right? So he was the ICE director. He said normally, and he was involved in countless reports,

look, and I know you get all the data you need by the end of October, right? And generally, That report was released in November, at the latest December, we still don't have it. I'm getting word right now. It's because they've completely reworked it to spend it. So it's going to try to put as much a lipstick on the pig as they can. But then the day, that report's still going to be a pig. And I guarantee you, we're going to be reviewing on that, and we're going to make sure American people hear the truth. Now, for those of our listeners who maybe aren't aware of what that is, ICE generally releases a report at the end of the year,

detailing sort of these statistics about how many arrests, how many deportations, yada, yada, yada. this still has not been released as of the recording of this podcast. And you're mentioning it's because they're trying to spin it. Absolutely, because there's no doubt the information I'm getting, it's going to show the lowest number of, we're talking about interior enforcement arrests that ICE has done. And again, simply put, that just means there are more criminals. Because, again, this is very important because American people are being lied to,

90% under any administration, Republican Democrat, 90% of who I arrested interior have a criminal conviction or have been criminally charged, and now that has been dramatically reduced, which just equates that means more criminals are walking our streets. That's what the report is going to show. They're trying to twist it and manipulate so it doesn't look as bad as it actually is. Now, Mark, we need to wrap up, but we've discussed all of these various issues that come as a result of a weak southern border policy.

What is the solution? How do we fix this? How do we get back on track? So two things. One, 2022 matter. So we need to get individuals up on the hill. that understand the importance of border security, that it really is about our nation's public health, safety, now security. We haven't even talked about COVID and the ridiculous hypocrisy that they're

allowing COVID-positive immigrants in without being tested or vaccine mandates. So we need strong, strong members of Congress that understand border security first and foremost. But hey, look, at the end of the day, we can't wait for them. We can't. They don't take office until 2023. You know, nothing in Congress moves fast. We need them pass meaningful legislation to fix that loophole. that I was telling you that the Remain of Mexico program caused to reduce the authority of a secretary to basically abolish ICE without congressional oversight or approval. There are so many things that Congress needs to do to pass meaningful legislation. But here's another thing I would say real quick, is that let's not wait until then.

You need to get out there. Talk to your state legislator. Talk to your state AGs. Talk to your governors. Demand that they do more. Like Governor Abbott and Texas, Governor Ducanus in Florida, a few other governors, Governor, I mean, A.G. Paxson of Texas. Texas has done more than any other state in this nation.

We need more states to do more. Citizens need to demand that their states, regardless if they're on the border interior, step up to do more to help secure our border and fill the gap that's been left by this administration. That was Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection under President Trump and Heritage Foundation Visiting Fellow. Mark, very much appreciate your time. You bet. Thanks, Doug. And that'll do for today's episode.

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