Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan accused the Biden administration of making the United States less safe within hours of President Joe Biden being sworn in last week.
“Look, I know what our team said to the transition team,” Morgan said. “I know the facts and data and analysis that was provided. I know what they told them and gave them that showed that the wall works.”
Morgan said he believes the administration didn’t speak to experts with the Border Patrol about which policies should remain. He cited executive orders ending the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program, as well as one that ended border wall system construction.
“So this was this is something we’ve been saying was the most dangerous thing that he’s been saying all along, that he was going to get rid of on Day One, and that’s what he did,” the former commissioner said. “That policy [MPP] alone attributed to the absolute reduction of [migrant] families coming up from Central America.”
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
“It’s just frustrating what I’m seeing right now,” Morgan said. “To me, it’s all politics. It’s all about politics. And our country’s less safe because of it, and it’s just disgusting.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Jan. 20 that the agency will “cease adding individuals into the program” under the MPP.
“The legalization provisions in that bill apply only to people already living in the United States,” the agency said.
The MPP program was launched in January 2019 to help stem the flow of meritless asylum claims that were clogging up the system by the hundreds of thousands. The MPP program makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico while their asylum case is adjudicated. Prior to its implementation, thousands of illegal immigrants were released into the United States to await their cases, most of whom failed to appear in court.
The administration also said that for 100 days, it will halt deportations for some illegal immigrants.
DHS will “pause removals for certain noncitizens ordered deported to ensure we have a fair and effective immigration enforcement system focused on protecting national security, border security, and public safety.”
“The pause will allow DHS to ensure that its resources are dedicated to responding to the most pressing challenges that the United States faces, including immediate operational challenges at the southwest border in the midst of the most serious global public health crisis in a century,” the statement reads. “Throughout this interim period DHS will continue to enforce our immigration laws.”
