[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 41 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H1007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      ON THE TESTIMONY OF FORMER CHIEF OF BORDER PATROL RAUL ORTIZ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Rose) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I was troubled to recently hear that former 
chief of Border Patrol, Raul Ortiz, never spoke to either President 
Biden or the Vice President and so-called border czar Kamala Harris in 
the 2 years he headed up security at our southern border.
  In a recent interview, Chief Ortiz said he never had a single 
conversation with either of them. He went on to say: ``That is a 
problem,'' given that he commanded 21,000 border patrolmen.
  I would argue it is more than a problem. At the very least, it is an 
indication that border security was never and has not been a priority 
for our Commander in Chief.
  It is a bit like abandoning a soldier on the battlefield, Mr. 
Speaker. Because of the policies of the Biden administration, Ortiz had 
to endure an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration month after 
month. In his 2\1/2\ years at the helm, there were more than 5 million 
illegal immigrant encounters and 1\1/2\ million got-aways during that 
period. His patrolmen seized more than 50,000 pounds of fentanyl at the 
southern border by the time of his retirement at the end of last June.
  When asked about whether the White House was sending mixed messages 
to Mexico, Central America, and beyond, he said, without hesitation: 
Yes.
  That mixed messaging was heard loud and clear when President Biden 
was on the campaign trail in 2019 and said that the United States could 
take another 2 million immigrants ``in a heartbeat.'' That message got 
even louder after he took office. In no time, he halted Border Patrol 
activity, wall construction, and ended the successful remain in Mexico 
asylum policy.
  It is also important to consider that Ortiz was at the helm when 
title 42 was lifted. All of the experts warned that an unprecedented 
surge in illegal immigration would follow if that authority was lifted. 
Nevertheless, the Biden administration fought tirelessly for its end.
  Imagine overseeing the border and not getting a single call from 
those undoing years of border policy. Imagine the stress, the staffing 
challenges, the human trafficking and drug crime, all happening with 
the stroke of a pen and without your input.
  Under the Biden administration, we have seen an unprecedented abuse 
of parole authority, resulting in more than 1 million immigrants being 
allowed to enter the United States. The President clearly kept that 
2019 campaign promise, and it appears he kept his border officials in 
the dark in the process.
  Ultimately, a phone call won't solve this crisis, and we don't need 
new immigration laws to solve the invasion at the southern border. 
Don't be fooled by the Democrats and the President calling for new 
legislation and resources. What we need is a President willing to 
enforce existing law and one who will prioritize the men and women who 
protect our borders over those crossing them illegally.
  The main need for new legislation is to force the President to 
enforce existing laws and to complete the border wall. The House passed 
that legislation, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, almost 10 months 
ago, only to have it sit idly on the Senate side and be ignored.

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