Tucson, we have a problem.
Letter to the Honorable Clay Higgins
Dear Congressman Higgins:
I offer my sincere thanks and congratulations to you, and to the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and staff, for the successful impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas. I have followed the investigation closely from the beginning and have been truly overwhelmed by your passion and dedication to serving the people of the United States in these turbulent times.
J. J. Carrell is a retired Deputy Patrol Agent in Charge of the U.S. Border Patrol and author of a memoir, Invaded: The Intentional Destruction of the American Immigration System (2023). Mr. Carrell tells me he would like to offer his testimony if he may be of service. The value of his testimony will be immediately evident when contrasted against recent news reports that obscure the facts about the collapse of security functions at the border.
In a recent podcast interview, Mr. Carrell shared some important observations from his contacts inside the Border Patrol. He states that the security screening procedures at the border have completely broken down, and that individuals from countries with which we lack diplomatic relations – and the ability to perform intelligence sharing – are being allowed entry. This is unprecedented, as you know, and directly violates the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and several provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Mr. Carrell explains that despite the focus on recent intensive border security measures taken by the State of Texas at Shelby Park, hundreds of miles of border remain completely unprotected while Border Patrol agents are assigned to “processing” duties. In addition, the “processing” of those who choose to enter through the Border Patrol has been reduced to, essentially, a rubber stamp.
There aren’t enough agents to come interview them. So we’re releasing them. And my guys are saying, “I’m releasing known terrorists. I know they are. I’m looking at their records. But they’re forcing me to release them.”
This practice, as you can imagine, poses immediate dangers for the nation at large, and particularly for the communities where these individuals are being released. According to Mr. Carrell:
My last year in the Border Patrol was Joe Biden’s first year, so I’ve only been out of the Border patrol for two years. And let me tell you how different it was. When I was in the Border Patrol, 95-96 percent [of encounters and apprehensions] were Mexican nationals, the rest were Central America, South America.
Every now and then we’d get what you’d call “exotic” — someone from Sudan, Yemen, et cetera.
It’s been flipped. Absolutely flipped. Over 70 percent of everyone arrested on the border is other than Mexican. […]
During my 24 years, if I got someone from, say, Sudan, I would immediately call the [Joint Terrorism Task Force], that’s an FBI unit tied in with DHS, ATF, every alphabet agency would show up, under the direction of the FBI. They would debrief this gentleman from Sudan, determine if he was a terrorist or associated with terrorism. If he was, he would be whisked away and I would never see him, I’d have no idea what they would do with him.
If he wasn’t, they would turn him back to me, as the supervisor and the deputy patrol agent in charge, and say, he does not match everything we need, however, he needs to be removed.
I got it, 10-4. I would set him up for deportation, and that individual would be flown back to Sudan immediately.
Never, never, never, in 100 million careers, would I release him. In fact, in my 24 years, I was associated with less than 5 special interest arrests.
I would never release that person. If I would have, as a [journeyman agent], or a supervisor, or a senior-level manager, I would have been suspended, they’d have taken my gun and badge, and ultimately they would fire me.
Now — fast forward. In Joe Biden’s time, Special Interest Aliens [encountered or apprehended] in 2019 and 2020 was less than 2,000.
In 2022 we caught 25,000 Special Interest Aliens.
And in FY 2023, it was over 80,000. And every single one of them was released.1
I’m not sure that this is news to you, Mr. Higgins, but no doubt it would come as news to many.
I note that facts concerning the lapse in security screenings at the border are not being shared through legacy media or public radio to people in cities in the southwest, such as Tucson and Phoenix, which will soon be receiving busloads of illegal border-crossing military-aged males delivered by the U.S. Border Patrol under orders from DHS. The County Administrator for Pima County, Arizona, on 16 February 2024, issued a memo advising that federal dollars going to non-governmental organizations operating welcome centers and shelters for “migrants” would be exhausted by the end of March, and that “street releases” would follow. Many Arizonans have expressed surprise and frustration at learning that NGOs such as Casa Alitas are primarily operated not through charitable donations but through federal grants — in Pima County, those grants are being expended to the tune of $1 million to $1.4 million per week.2
Readers of the Arizona Daily Star, and those who get their news from NPR affiliate station KJZZ, are being told that these “migrants” are properly screened and legally processed:
Migrants that have been released by Border Patrol have been screened and cleared for release. They are given a court date, so, technically, they have documentation, they are no longer undocumented. Once Border Patrol releases them they are in the country legally, they’ve had their belongings searched, fingerprints, they’ve gone through a screening process. So I think that’s important to point out, because there’s definitely concern from some about security.
But this is Border Patrol making the decision that these people are ok to be released into the community.3
Arguments over the legality or illegality of their presence in the country aside — the statement that “these people are ok to be released into the community” is a dangerous falsehood. When residents of border communities hear “street releases,” they generally picture families, or women with children, from Mexico or Central America. They will not be prepared for the busloads of unvetted military-aged men from countries with which we lack diplomatic relations — for example, nations in sub-saharan Africa. Social media posts from San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond over the past few days reveal the truth. This morning Supervisor Desmond posted, “According [to] the Border Patrol there have been over 3,400 street releases since Friday [February 23]. This is unsustainable and cannot continue.”4
It seems that the Arizona Daily Star may be relying exclusively on official Border Patrol sources, and thereby failing to see the reality. Opinion columnist Tim Steller writes:
I asked Border Patrol Sector Chief John Modlin about [the accuracy of the phrase being employed by Pima County, “Legally Processed Asylum Seekers”] in January, and he acknowledged that when there is no bed space to detain people, those released have been processed but haven’t necessarily requested asylum. “That person could be someone who has claimed (credible) fear, or it could be someone who hasn’t claimed fear,” he said.
While they aren’t necessarily seeking asylum, they are legally in the country because the Border Patrol processed them. And that puts the burden on us to do something about them.5
But as we know from the extensive and thorough investigation of DHS border policies conducted by the House Homeland Security Committee, the reason illegal border-crossers are not detained, as required by law, has nothing to do with the availability of detention space. Instead it has everything to do with the “catch-and-release” policies of Secretary Mayorkas that directly contravene multiple provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Sector Chief Modlin — if the reporting is accurate — is projecting the false impression that the Border Patrol’s security functions are as robust as ever. I find it remarkable that neither the Arizona Daily Star reporter Bregel, nor columnist Steller, nor KJZZ’s Gilger bother to mention the 13 February 2024 impeachment of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
The citizens of the United States have the right to know the truth about the invasion. Those who intentionally perpetuate false and misleading tropes about vulnerable “migrants” seeking asylum violate the social contract. Hearings in the 118th Congress have demonstrated the tremendous value in uncovering the facts, for the public, about the open border.
Although the impeachment has concluded successfully in the House, I understand that there is no guarantee the Senate will conduct a trial. Either way, I hope and pray Congress will continue to hold hearings, and that testimony from Mr. Carrell and others with light to shed on the border will be heard and will further illuminate the truth for the American public, so that we may stand ready.
Chris DePerno. “J. J. Carrell.” I Detective, KGRA Digital Broadcasting. 14 Feb 2024, Available: https://kgradb.com/i-detective/ (at 31:38).
Emily Bregel. “Tucson to see ‘homelessness on steroids’ as migrant-aid funds dry up.” Arizona Daily Star (via Tucson.com), 18 Feb 2024 (updated 27 Feb 2024).
Lauren Gilger. “Tucson is bracing for street releases of migrants.” KJZZ. 20 Feb 2024 (citing Emily Bregel). Audio available: https://kjzz.org/content/1871804/tucson-bracing-street-releases-migrants Transcript available: https://x.com/KimWexlerMAJD/status/1761229787584979408?s=20
Jim Desmond [@jim_desmond]. “According [to] the Border Patrol there have been over 3,400 street releases since Friday.” X, 28 Feb 2024. Available: https://x.com/jim_desmond/status/1762851944383820074?s=20
Tim Steller. “Tim Steller’s column: Demonized NGOs stand between Tucson and chaos.” Arizona Daily Star (via Tucson.com), 25 Feb 2024. Available: https://x.com/AmySueMartin/status/1761893957162733604?s=20