The chief of U.S. Border Patrol during the Obama administration says the situation at the border “absolutely” qualifies as a “national emergency.”
Former Border Patrol chief and former FBI official Mark Morgan in an interview with FOX Business on Thursday discussed the release of hundreds of detained illegal alien migrants in the U.S. because of overcrowded detention facilities, adding that these migrants know the system is in crisis and can be easily manipulated.
“The intelligence will show you they’re not fleeing violence and persecution like a lot of the talking points," said Morgan. "Actually violence in Guatemala, [and] all Central American countries, are way down.”
“They know because of our asylum laws, they step one foot on American soil, they are allowed in, never to be heard from again,” he argued.
Morgan noted how Border Patrol is now turning to the practice of “catch-and-release” because ICE, which usually processes the migrants detained at the border, simply has no room.
“It’s absolutely a national emergency,” he said.
“What we’re talking about now is part of the continued catch-and-release. It’s a little bit different than before,” Morgan explained. “Usually Border Patrol agents, everybody they catch, they turn them over to ICE. Border Patrol agents now, because their facilities are overwhelmed, ICE doesn’t have any more room. Now Border Patrol agents are having to release illegal aliens into the interior United States. They’re overwhelmed.”