Chad Wolf, former Department of Homeland (DHS) secretary, criticized the Biden administration for the grave conditions at the southern border.
In a Border Security Hearing on June 14, Wolf said that cartels have control of the border, and fentanyl continues to flow into the United States.
According to Fox News, Wolf recently joined many others demanding Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, be removed from office. Since the Biden administration took office, there has been a surge in migrant encounters, Fox reported. In fiscal 2021, there were 1.7 million encounters, and 2.3 million encounters in fiscal year 2022. In fiscal 2023, the numbers reached record highs, with over 250,000 migrant encounters in December alone.
"The border is effectively controlled by the Mexican cartels,” Wolf said, according to a tweet from the Daily Caller.
“The border security system is unrecognizable from the America First policies of the Trump administration,” Wolf said, according to another tweet from the Daily Caller. "This is the first administration of either political party to deliberately take steps to diminish the security along our southern border."
Congressman Neal Dunn of Florida said cartels make billions at the southern border through drug smuggling and human trafficking, according to a Federal Newswire report.
According to the New York Post, the cartels offer passage across the border to migrants for a fee. This illegal passage is undertaken to avoid being banned from the U.S. for up to five years if they are initially denied entrance at the border, the Post reported.
Cartels often force immigrants to smuggle illegal drugs, abduct them for human trafficking and have even amputated fingers if the immigrants are unable to pay what they owe, the Post reported.
According to the DHS website, Wolf assumed the role of Acting Secretary of Homeland Security on Nov. 13, 2019, following his designation by President Donald Trump. He was confirmed as the inaugural under-secretary of the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (PLCY) within the DHS.
