U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz testified that President Joe Biden’s “no consequences” policies are to blame for the record-setting surge of migrants crossing the southern border during a deposition in a Florida lawsuit.
Chief Ortiz testified under oath in a deposition for a Florida lawsuit in July and blamed President Biden’s policies provide no consequences for illegally crossing the border, according to an exclusive report from Fox News. The State of Florida filed the lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security.
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“In my experience, we have seen increases when there are no consequences,” Chief Ortiz testified.
“So, if migrant populations believe that they’re going … there are not going to be consequences, more of them will come to the border. Is that what you’re saying?” the state’s attorney asked.
Ortiz replied — “There is an assumption that if migrant populations are told that there is a potential that they may be released, that, yes, you can see increases.”
The lawsuit filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody asserts that the federal agencies under the direction of President Biden are violating the law as established in the Immigration and Nationality Act. That law requires law enforcement officials to detain migrants at the border until they are returned to their country of citizenship.
The testimony from Chief Ortiz stands in stark contrast to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s comments during the Aspen Security Forum where he described the situation at the border as a “historic challenge” and asserted the border is “secure,” Fox reports.
The exclusive report from Fox News adds:
“After the Biden administration denied that they were engaged in catch-and-release, and that they were responsible for the historic surge at our southern border, Florida got the chief of Border Patrol to admit, under oath, the truth,” Moody told Fox News Digital.
“The Biden administration caused the surge, made the border less safe and is flagrantly violating the very federal laws they swore to uphold. The Biden administration is putting hard-working border patrol agents in impossible and untenable positions — risking their lives and safety, and I want to thank Chief Ortiz for testifying truthfully at his deposition,” Moody said.
The Florida lawsuit is set for trial in January 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.