BREAKING: A former border official has testified before Congress, claiming the Biden-Harris administration has deliberately downplayed the severity of the border crisis.
Last month, retired San Diego Sector Chief Aaron Heitke testified before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee that the Biden-Harris administration tried to “quiet the border-wide crisis” by concealing information from the press and hiding crossings by illegal immigrants who were connected to terrorist organizations.
“I had to release illegal aliens by the hundreds each day into communities who could not support them,” testified Heitke, whose job entailed securing some 1,000 miles of the border.
He described that the administration funded two flights a week to mass transport illegal immigrants to Texas, when they would have been released in San Diego.
“Each flight costs approximately $150,000. This was the administration’s way of trying to quiet the border-wide crisis,” Heitke said.
Further, government officials ordered Heitke to transport more than 2,000 apprehended illegal immigrants “out of the sight of the media,” he alleged.
He described being forbidden from discussing the high volume of illegal border crossings from “Special Interest Aliens,” or individuals suspected of posing national security concerns due to their affiliation with terrorist groups or their country of origin.
Prior to the Biden-Harris administration, the San Diego area “averaged 10 to 15 SIA arrests per year,” a number that has risen to “over 100 SIAs in 2022, well over that in 2023, and even more than that registered this year,” Heitke continued.
“At the time, I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIAs or mention any of the arrests,” he said. “The administration was trying to convince the public there was no threat at the border.”
On Sept. 20, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez posted to X a recent encounter with a group of illegal immigrants, including Special Interest Aliens.
“Troopers encountered a group of 36 illegal immigrants in Normandy, Del Rio Sector. DPS Troopers arrested 15 illegal immigrants from Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, & South Africa for criminal trespass,” he posted.
“Among the group were special interest illegal immigrants from Turkey, Pakistan, India, & Vietnam. The group from Turkey stated they each paid $12K to cross the Rio Grande & were destined for New Jersey to meet with a sponsor. 21 family groups were referred to the US Border Patrol. #OperationLoneStar.”
In a separate post, Olivarez wrote, “@TxDPS Troopers interviewed a group of special interest immigrants from Turkey. One of the males spoke English and stated they each paid 12K to cross from Mexico & found a sponsor in New Jersey through a ‘network.’”
“When asked what a sponsor means, the male stated ‘They take care of our expenses and everything while we are in there legally,’” he continued.
“In the last 48 hours, DPS Troopers have come across 8 special interest immigrants from 5 different countries in the rural Normandy area. DPS uses every tool & resource in working with local, county, & federal law enforcement to screen special interest immigrants properly, & to provide transparency to the American public on who is crossing the MX-TX border. #OperationLoneStar.”