US Border Patrol chief says migrant smugglers are ‘exploiting’ the southern border’s ‘vulnerability’

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said migrant smugglers are exploiting vulnerabilities at the southern border and that U.S. authorities are focused on addressing humanitarian issues.

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Owens said smugglers are “definitely setting” the rules of engagement at the southern border, adding, “They’re going to “We are deciding what the flow will be and we will respond accordingly.” that. “

“Then we go in front of them and try to deny them use of these areas, especially areas that we think will be dangerous to us and to immigrants,” Owens continued. “But at the end of the day, our border with Mexico is over 1,900 miles long.”

He said even with 20,000 Border Patrol agents, it would be unrealistic to deploy them to every location along the southern border at once.

“The tactic is that they push the group away, knowing that we are going to respond from a humanitarian perspective and ensure their safety. What are they doing a few miles away while we’re at it?”

Owens said his biggest concern about security at the southern border is the number of so-called fugitives — people who are actively trying to flee law enforcement and are not immediately apprehended for a variety of reasons. called it a “national security threat.” ”

“Border security is an important part of national security. And when we don’t know who’s coming into this country and what their intentions are, that’s a threat. And they now have vulnerabilities at the border. ,” Owens said.

Owens said he hopes immigrants seeking to enter the U.S. from the southern border “take the right path to come into our country and not take the wrong path,” but that most of them “arguably generally do not. “There is,” he said. good person. ” He said he still finds a small number of immigrants with criminal records among the larger population. Owens also said his main concern is the unknown.

“Most of the people we meet who turn themselves in are either fleeing terrible situations or are economic immigrants seeking a better life. That doesn’t make them bad people, it just They just don’t respect the laws that we have in place as a country, and they’re actually putting the people of this country at risk because they’re retracting our borders. Our security apparatus has been taken out of commission.” Owens said.