Biden’s border policies indicate he does not care about human life: Brandon Judd
President of the National Border Patrol Council Brandon Judd and Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez react to reports that 2022 was the deadliest year for migrants at the border.
The Biden administration continues to be the subject of controversy as new border numbers show the fiscal year 2022 saw not only a record 2.3 million migrant encounters, but was also the deadliest with 856 recorded migrant deaths, according to data retrieved from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Biden administration continues to reinforce the claim that their immigration and border policies are "humane;" however, National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd argued that there is "absolutely no humanity" in their strategy.
RECORD 856 MIGRANTS DIE AT SOUTHERN BORDER IN FISCAL YEAR 2022: CBP
"He doesn't care about human life. He doesn't care. The only thing that he cares about is pandering to his open border base. And that's dangerous for the American people. It's also dangerous for those people that are trying to enter our country illegally," Brandon Judd told "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Todd Piro.
FILE - In this Thursday, June 10, 2021, file photo, a pair of migrant families from Brazil pass through a gap in the border wall to reach the United States after crossing from Mexico to Yuma, Ariz., to seek asylum. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia, File) (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia, File)
The impact of the Biden administration's border policies goes well beyond the migrant surge our country is currently withstanding. As the administration continues to ignore the grim reality of their open border, Americans continue to suffer — with hundreds of Americans dying every day from fentanyl poisonings. The amount of fentanyl seized at the US southern border so far this year could kill the entire US population eight times over.
A recent memo circulating among Senate Republicans last month details how the fentanyl crisis continues to worsen across U.S. communities as southern border drug seizures and encounters reach record highs.
"They [Biden administration] fail to acknowledge the fact that we have a situation at our border where Americans have died, not only Americans, but also migrants, as you just pointed out, with the record number of migrant deaths that occurred along the southern border," Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez said Sunday.
"And we continue to see migrants to be [sic] killed also by human smugglers during these high-speed chases when they're being smuggled across the border into the interior. So, again, it's unacceptable."
President Biden has been tirelessly accused of "ignoring" the reality of America's border crisis; despite the accusations, the administration continues to tout that the border is secure — even though data indicates that, since the beginning of the Biden administration, the number of migrant encounters has increased significantly. In September 2021, there were 192,001 migrant encounters. Comparatively, border agents encountered 57,674 migrants in September 2020 and 52,546 in September 2019.
"The first ten days in October, we're already on pace to set a new record, 2.5 million in fiscal year 2023 if we don't do something to stem the tide. So this administration knows what it needs to do. But because it continues to pander to open border activists to its base, they continue to allow this crisis and chaos to continue," Judd argued.
FEBRUARY 21: Asylum seekers from Colombia, Venzuela, and Cuba wait next to the USA border wall with Mexico. U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about reducing energy prices in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, March 31, 2022. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Photo by Katie McTiernan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images )
Border security remains a top concern for voters heading into the midterm elections.
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Fox News' Audrey Conklin, Bill Melugin, and Landon Mion contributed to this report.