Arizona Border Sheriff Slams Biden Over Border Crisis: Biden ‘Owns This,’ ‘We Had It Under Control’ Under Trump
An Arizona sheriff slammed President Joe Biden’s reversal of former President Donald Trump’s policies noting the ongoing crisis at the US-Mexico border due to more lax immigration rules.
Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels appeared on Fox News this week and pointed out, in particular, how the decision of the current Democratic administration to halt construction of the border wall has created a “crime scene” at the southern border — and left the country “wide open for cartels.”
He said Biden ‘owns this,’ while lamenting that the country “had it under control” during the Trump administration.
“When President Biden rescinded the emergency order on the southwest border, it stopped resources and stopped construction on our border,” Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County, Arizona, told Fox News on Friday.
“As a result of that one area where the fence is not complete, we get five or six groups a day coming across there.”
“It’s [opened up] the border. It opened up the message that it’s okay to come in this country. This administration owns this decision. And what it’s doing is forcing us back to 2019, where we had the largest what I call crime scene in the country to include the largest humanitarian situation going on,” he added.
Cochise County includes 83 miles of the US-Mexico border wall built under the previous administration — which was meant to deter the tide of immigrants crossing the border illegally as well as to put a stop on the human trafficking and cartels that have long plagued the southern border.
Sheriff Dannels, who also chairs the Border Security Committee of the National Sheriffs’ Association, told Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade that the current Biden administration’s decision to reverse Trump’s immigration policies is “politically motivated.”
“It’s a product of politics within policing,” he said. “And I’ve always said that they had no business in our business, in the business of policing what we do on this border in our communities.”
The sheriff also lamented that the current crisis at the border has an impact on both health and public safety especially as the coronavirus pandemic continues to pummel the US.
This came as reports said thousands of migrants at the southern border, who were released into the country by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following more relaxed border rules, tested positive for coronavirus.
Biden’s catch and release amnesty is now triggering a super spreader event at the southern border. Who could have ever seen this coming?
After Border Patrol release, asylum-seekers test positive for Covid in Brownsville, Texas | NBC Newshttps://t.co/bWihmTHhnG
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) March 3, 2021
Biden’s border policies “not working”
“Nobody is talking about what’s going on at the southwest border when it comes to the health pandemic in this country,” Sheriff Dannels said. “And then you look at the public safety aspect of this, it’s upsetting.”
“It’s almost like we’re not part of this country, which is very upsetting.”
Dannels said he “would love to hear Dr. Fauci” talk about the public health issue on the US-Mexico border.
The Arizona sheriff also cited the surge in immigrants looking to enter the country under President Biden — and said we had it “under control” under Trump.
“A year ago today, we were running, just on our camera system, 300 to 400 a month,” Dannels said. “In August, when the politics kicked up, we jumped up to 1,200 a month. In December, there were over 2,500 illegal entries to include over 500 pounds of illicit drugs. I just got the charts [the other day], it’s skyrocketing back to numbers we saw in 2019.”
“The reason we have MPP and these other programs President Trump put in place was because the 2019 caravan and surges. It worked. It’s not working now,” he added.
Trump tears into Biden over immigration
Meanwhile, former president Trump also lashed at the Democratic president for a “spiraling tsunami” at the southern border, and denying there is a crisis, despite a spike in migrant numbers.
Full text of Trump statement on ‘out of control’ immigration, border security https://t.co/KNp3E1ZLLp
— Boston Herald (@bostonherald) March 5, 2021
“Our border is now totally out of control thanks to the disastrous leadership of Joe Biden,” Trump said in a lengthy statement. “Our great Border Patrol and ICE agents have been disrespected, demeaned, and mocked by the Biden Administration. A mass incursion into the country by people who should not be here is happening on an hourly basis, getting worse by the minute.”
“The spiraling tsunami at the border is overwhelming local communities, depleting budgets, crowding hospitals, and taking jobs from legal American workers,” he continued.
“When I left office, we had achieved the most secure border in our country’s history. Under Biden, it will soon be worse, more dangerous, and more out of control than ever before.”
