The flood of illegal immigrants into the southern border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, last week was a distraction by drug cartels to divert law enforcement's attention away from areas where they can smuggle drugs and weapons into the U.S., the chief of U.S. Border Patrol said.
"It's a money-making opportunity for those smugglers, and I believe it's a distraction from them to cross other things into the country," Jason Owens, a 20-year veteran of the Border Patrol, who was named chief in June, told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. "Narcotics, fentanyl, weapons, people of interest, whether it be hardened criminals and gang members, convicted sexual predators."
Owens also expressed frustration that his officers are being diverted from law enforcement to deal with administrative duties such as processing illegal immigrants once they have crossed the border. He said the situation at the southern border is about as bad as he has seen in his career with the Border Patrol.
"In terms of flow and the threats that we're seeing with fentanyl and with the criminal organizations that are our adversary, it's about as bad as I've ever seen it," he said.
Last week, more than 4,000 illegal immigrants crossed the Rio Grande River into Eagle Pass, a town of 29,000 that has been overwhelmed by the surge.
"This isn't sustainable," Owens said. "This is up and down the system, everybody is overwhelmed. Even the government of Mexico, which have been great partners for us, U.S. Border Patrol, a lot of times our facilities are already over capacity."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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