US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz on Wednesday said the US does not have “operational control” of the southern border, contradicting a stance previously taken by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mayorkas has previously maintained in testimony before lawmakers that the department has operational control of the border, though he’s been more ambiguous in interviews, citing the statutory definition and saying he’s trying to “achieve it.” Mayorkas has often served as the focus of Republicans’ criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of border security.
“Does DHS have operational control of our entire border?” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, asked Ortiz on Wednesday as part of a hearing on the situation along the US-Mexico border.
“No, sir,” Ortiz responded.
Green followed up with a clip from Mayorkas maintaining that his department has control.
“Do you think Secretary Mayorkas is lying there?” Green asked.
Ortiz declined to say whether Mayorkas was lying, saying: “About 10 years ago we used operational control as a measuring stick of our effectiveness along the southwest border. My new strategy is geared toward mission advantage.”
The exchange was part of Wednesday’s hearing on what Republicans described from the outset as Mayorkas’ “border crisis.” The hearing took place in south Texas.
In his opening remarks, Ortiz underscored the challenges facing his agents amid an influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border, telling lawmakers that in some areas, his agency faces “a crisis situation.”
“The migration flow represents challenges, and in some areas, a crisis situation,” Ortiz said.
The chief also recalled the September 2021 surge of Haitians in Del Rio, Texas,…
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