Border Patrol Agent: Immigrant Surge a 'National Security Crisis'

Border Patrol Agent and Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council Local 3307 Chris Cabrera declared the influx of illegal immigrants into the United States a “national security crisis” on Friday. 

“It is a humanitarian crisis, but it is creating a national security crisis because so much of our manpower is being diverted away from criminals from coming in, gang members, narcotics coming through the borders and everybody’s caught up with the baby-sitting aspect that the real criminals are getting past us,” Cabrera said on the Fox News Channel’s “On the Record.”

Cabrera also responded to allegations of abuse at detention centers for unaccompanied minors by pointing out that “the Border Patrol facilities that we’re housing people at right now are not designed to hold people for more than 10 or 12 hours. They’re designed to hold 250 people; we have 1,200, 1,500 people at a time.” He added, “there’s no beds, there’s no hot water, there’s no shower facilities. So, we’re stuck with these people, because ICE and ERO, they’re not taking them, and so in the interim basis, they’re throwing them in our lap. We do the best with what we have; our agents are doing a great job out there. The [complaints about the] food, rightfully so, it’s terrible. I wouldn’t eat it.”

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