Border Patrol chief warns migrant crisis is a 'national security threat' and ... trends now
The US Border Patrol chief said the crisis at the southern border is a 'national security threat' that 'keeps him awake at night' in a new interview during which he spelled out the danger posed by the millions of illegal migrants who've entered the country in recent years.
Border Patrol chief Jason Owens said during a sit-down with CBS News that he is mostly concerned with the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who haven't been apprehended and processed at the border on their way into the US.
'What's keeping me up at night is the 140,000 got aways,' Owens said - the number of migrants who have snuck into the country undetected since October.
'Why are they hiding? What do they have to hide? What are they bringing in? What is their intent? Where are they coming from?' Owens explained are the primary concerns of the USBP about the got-aways, whose backgrounds and locations are virtually unknown to the government.
'We simply don't know the answers to those questions. Those things for us are what represent the threat to our communities,' he said.
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Illegal migrants break through razor wire as they forcefully enter the United States via the southern border on March 21, 2024
The US Border Patrol is mere days away from hitting one million apprehensions of migrants in fiscal 2024, which began for the US government last October
Owens said his department is on track to record some two million apprehensions by the time the fiscal year ends in September.
The chief said, 'border security is a big piece of national security,' and the illegal migrants being smuggled into the country are 'exploiting a vulnerability' facing the nation at present.
He said that the migrants who've made their way into the US this year have come from at least 160 different countries, some of which are many continents away.
Routes from Europe and Asia lead to the Darien Gap in Panama, a popular starting point for smugglers leading large groups of migrants north through Central America and eventually into the US, said Owens.
When asked, he added that the flow of illegal migrant into the US is 'absolutely' driven by cartels, who 'set the rules of engagement' at the border.
During the interview, the 25-year veteran of USBP called for harsher immigration policies - something the Biden Administration has been struggling to make happen.
'I'm talking about jail time. I'm talking about being removed from the country and I'm talking about being banned from being able to
