An Arizona sheriff condemned President Biden’s administration for a wave of immigration executive orders that he said could undermine the progress made in border areas.
Biden signed a number of executive orders during his first days in office, including one directing of the Department of Homeland Security to halt deportation for 100 days, except if the individuals in question arrived in the United States after Nov. 1, are suspected of terrorism, or are a national security threat, among other factors.
“It’s troublesome. It’s hasty. We’ve worked so well over the last few years, and why we need a secure border is just common sense, and I can articulate that to you,” Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels told Fox & Friends, adding that the number of illegal entries into his area has “doubled.”
Biden also ceased the emergency declaration used to fund the wall along the southern border and ended the “remain in Mexico” policy that mandated migrants stay in their home country until their trial date. Democratic Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar said on Monday that federal contractors working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection were told by the agency to stop installing specified portions of slatted steel wall across California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
“People ask, ‘Well, why do we need a secure border?’ This political theater that’s being played out is scary to all of us on the southwest border, sheriffs, police departments, and our federal partners, and every American should be standing up on this,” he continued.
The changes were made “to ensure we have a fair and effective immigration enforcement system focused on protecting national security, border security, and public safety,” the administration said.
“One thing that bothers me as a sheriff serving 37 years on the southwest border is the fact that the lessons of the past continue to be played out in Congress, through the presidency,” Dannels said. “Police chiefs and sheriffs are experts of communities. Our federal government is supposed to be experts of national security and border security. Together, that’s a recipe of success for every American, and what I’m seeing now is we’re going to go back in time and play this political theater at the backs and the risks of every American.”
