Kinney County, Texas Sheriff Brad Coe thanked Gov. Greg Abbott for his role in easing the border crisis on “America's Newsroom” on Friday.
Coe said lawmakers and the community have faced increased risks over the last year and have received no aid from the federal government.
“I have six full-time deputies who were involved in over 260 high-speed chases,” he told hosts Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer.
Mr Coe said they had been able to arrest 90 per cent of the suspects, but said he feared for the safety of the children as the school was located on a main thoroughfare in the town.
Attorney General Biden seeks Supreme Court intervention over Texas Razor Wire on southern border
Migrants wait in line next to the border fence under the watchful eye of the Texas National Guard to enter El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Andres Layton, File)
In an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas accuses Congress of failing to allocate substantial resources to the department, but denies the legitimacy of any future Republican impeachment proceedings against him. It seems like it is.
In part, he said, “we are enforcing the laws that Congress passed.”
He added that President Biden has asked Congress for additional funding to increase the number of CBP officers and new technology to no avail, and reiterated Congress' role in passing laws that the president implements.
“…until the offending laws, which have not been amended in over 30 years, are amended,” he said.
Coe responded that Mayorkas is preventing the Border Patrol from operating at full capacity. He expressed confidence in Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, but said Border Patrol agents are not authorized to enforce immigration laws.
“I've known Chief Owens for a while. He's knowledgeable, he's capable. They won't let him do the job,” Coe said.
“Border Patrol has the authority to prosecute illegal immigrants and can file expedited removal orders against illegal immigrants. That's what I did when I was with Border Patrol, and it worked.”
Coe said if former President Trump wins the presidential election, there will be another surge of illegal immigrants that Texas will have to deal with later this year. He explained that migrants will flood the border before the inauguration.
“I guarantee you that between the election and the inauguration, we will see a tsunami of humanity spilling over our borders,” he said.
When asked about 300,000 migrant encounters reported in December 2022 alone, Mayorkas said DHS capacity is limited by Congressional funding constraints.
But the chief added that there had been a “historic number” of dismissals during his term.
Later, when asked about Customs and Border Protection officials telling Fox News that they release nearly three-quarters of the migrants who cross the border each day, Mayorkas said that, not surprisingly, those released are subject to enforcement action. He said he would be subject to processing and alternatives to detention.
In part, he said, “we are enforcing the laws that Congress passed.”
FOX News' Charles Crates contributed to this report.
