During an interview with NBC News that took place on Wednesday and was released Thursday, Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of ICE P.J. Lechleitner stated that he’s not surprised that President Joe Biden didn’t mention the border as one of his regrets, “but it’s unfortunate. Because I think we could have done more.” And specifically, more resources could have been given to immigration enforcement.
NBC News Homeland Security Correspondent Julia Ainsley asked, “Biden had an exit interview this week where he was asked about his regrets. And he did not mention the border. Does that surprise you?”
Lechleitner answered, “No, it doesn’t surprise me, but it’s unfortunate. Because I think we could have done more.”
He elaborated, “We could have put more resources to it, either at CBP for the border itself and with ICE. And we could have went and tried to get more of these individuals who are on the non-detained docket and we could have detained more people and we could have removed more people. And I think we could have used more resources and support. And we could have done that in the last four years.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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