By Steve Neavling
Former Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz claims he never spoke to President Biden or Vice President Harris during his tenure, despite the growing crisis at the border.
“I’ve never had one conversation with the president or the vice president for that matter,” Ortiz said on 60 Minutes. “That’s a problem.”
Ortiz also criticized the legal battles between the Biden administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican. Texas has installed razor wire along the Rio Grande, shut Border Patrol agents out of a park along the border, and passed a state law that allows local authorities and judges to arrest and deport migrants.
“The National Guardsmen even, to some degree, the border patrol agents have become pawns in this political game between the two sides,” Ortiz said.
Asked who was winning the battle, Ortiz responded, “The cartels, the criminal organizations, that’s who’s winning in all of this. They’re sitting back reaping all the benefits while they watch the state of Texas and Washington D.C. go at it.”
Ortiz became chief in August 2021 and retired in June 2023.
