Malliotakis: Humanitarian crisis at border a direct result of Biden’s executive orders; says border being run by cartels

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said her recent visit to the Rio Grande Valley border in Texas was nothing but “disorder and chaos” that she says is a direct result of President Joe Biden’s open border policies.

Since Biden’s inauguration, the United States has seen a dramatic spike in the number of people encountered by border officials, many of whom are unaccompanied children and minors. According to the Pew Research Center, there were 18,945 family members and 9,297 unaccompanied children encountered in February — an increase of 168% and 63%, respectively, from the month before.

In March alone, more than 170,000 migrants were taken into custody at the border -- the highest monthly total in 15 years, to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials told NPR.

It’s not just immigrants crossing the border, but cartels who are trafficking drugs, guns, women and children and practically have control of the situation, she said.

“The reality is that the president has given our borders over to the cartels,” Malliotakis told the Advance/SILive.com. “The policies that were put in place by Trump with Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico were repealed and the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy has been altered and that’s what caused this.’’

While the numbers are at a month-to-month high, the number of immigrants crossing the border is still lower than numbers seen during the Trump Administration.

In May 2019, authorities encountered more than 55,000 migrant children, including 11,500 unaccompanied minors, and about 84,500 migrants traveling in family units at border crossings.

Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas and other Democrats have said the surge is the result of Trump policies that turned away everybody at the border and made it impossible for asylum seekers.

Malliotakis said she doesn’t agree with Castro’s assessment of the situation and maintains the “humanitarian crisis” is Biden’s doing. Critics of Biden, both Democrats and Republicans alike, say the administration should have set up proper holding facilities before issuing executive orders to prepare for the surge while working on long-term immigration policies.

“They should have forecasted for space (for young migrants) more quickly,” said Ronald Vitiello, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and chief of Border Patrol who has served in Republican and Democratic administrations. “And I think in hindsight, maybe they should have waited until they had additional shelter space before they changed the policies.”

REVERSING EXECUTIVE ORDERS, MORE JUDGES WOULD HELP PROBLEM, MALLIOTAKIS SAYS

Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) said the way out of this humanitarian crisis is to repeal Biden’s executive orders and reinstate Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program.

“More judges are needed to adjudicate these asylum cases – of which less than 10% are legitimate asylum needs – close the open areas where the cartels are trafficking drugs, guns, children and other nefarious activities and I think the federal government needs to look more into being proactive about how to stop the cartels,” she said when asked about what her policy suggestions would be to resolve the situation.

She said she was shocked to see how much the cartels are controlling the situation at the border and admitted she needs to “explore more” what steps the federal government can take to take back control. It’s estimated the cartels are making $500 million per month on illegal operations at the border.

Additionally, she feels there should be a visa entry and exit tracking system but said she believes immigrants should be able to come to the United States. “Our country has always been a nation of immigrants, my mother is a Cuban refugee, but there was a process and an order then and we don’t have it now. What I saw was disorder and chaos,” she said.

The number of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents at the border is decreasing, she said, because many have been diverted to help process applications for asylum seekers and other posts.

“[The agents] said their hands are tied. They have intercepted a lot but many are getting away,” she said, referencing a story that was told about a six-month-old child who was thrown overboard from a raft as a diversion so that smugglers and cartels could escape border patrol.

“If the president and vice president saw what was happening, they would rethink their policies. I don’t see how any person with a heart could go there and see that and not realize it’s a crisis. It’s unacceptable that they haven’t been down there,” she said.

FEMA DEPLOYED, ADDITIONAL FACILITIES BEING BUILT TO DEAL WITH SURGE

Led by House Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Malliotakis visited the Donna facility -- with nine other lawmakers -- where more than 4,000 unaccompanied children were kept in a pod with a coronavirus maximum capacity of 250 people. Social distancing wasn’t possible as they lay side-by-side in close quarters, many of whom exhibited symptoms of COVID-19, she said.

“All of this ‘follow the science’ talk and they’re not being COVID tested. They won’t get tested until the Department of Health and Human Services comes to take them and that could be weeks or months,” she said.

“That can happen but yet I can’t get 12 kids on a hockey team in New York to play a game because of COVID.”

The Biden administration has deployed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the area to assist, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said it will be opening an additional facility in West Texas to help with influx of unaccompanied minors. The facility will initially accommodate about 500 children but can be expanded to house 2,000.

“We will have, I believe, by next month, enough of those beds to take care of these children who have no place to go,” Biden said in a recent ABC News interview, when asked whether his administration should have anticipated the surge in young unaccompanied migrants as well as families and adults.

He added, “Let’s get something straight though. The vast majority of people crossing the border are being sent back ... immediately sent back.”