Securing the southern border should be America’s No. 1 national security priority, former Ambassador to Mexico Chris Landau told Newsmax Friday.

In response to a report that aired on Newsmax that Hamas terrorists have been helping Mexican cartels with border tunnels, Landau said on "The Record," "I think this shouldn't really surprise anyone in the sense that the Hamas folks have this tunnel technology and the cartels in Mexico want to take advantage of that kind of technology."

Landau said it’s imperative that the U.S. regard the southern border as a key national security issue. He said, "Right now, our national security establishment is focused on Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and not on our own country. I think as long as we regard this as just a law enforcement matter, it's not going to receive the serious attention that it needs.

"This has got to be the No. 1 national security interest of the United States — to make sure our own borders are secure."

Landau also said tunnels at the Mexican border aren’t the most pressing issue. He said, "It’s that you don't even need the tunnels because the border is wide open above ground. So, you know, we’ve got to first fix that." As for finding potential tunnels, Landau said, "Maybe we talk to the Israelis. They have a lot of expertise in this area that makes sure that we can detect these kind of tunnels."

"I mean, this doesn't seem like rocket science in the big scheme of what is humanly possible for the United States," he said. "If we put our mind to it that we can identify where there are tunnels under the border from Mexico to our country."

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