Newsmakers review the acting commissioner of Customs Border protection which is a dhs agency the Largest Law Enforcement Agency in the country with the second highest amount of revenue of any Law Enforcement agency and probably more popular than the one that brings in the most which is the irs. [laughter] the acting commissioner has had a long and distinguished career in Law Enforcement and prior to taking the job of acting commissioner and to el paso to have been border experience and violent korean crime and gang suppression. Related directly to his job today a Deputy Sheriff in Los Angeles Police officer. With an engineering degree and a law degree. Thank you commissioner morgan. Also a former marine i have to get in there. Said he may thank you for coming. He will be in the hot seat with my questions but if you have questions please fill out the index cards maybe i will go half an hour 35 minutes and then take questions from the audience. What everybody wants to know is can you give us an update we have to look at two pockets and one is the crisis the other is the National Security crisis really we are taking up the Immigration Crisis so let me start with that so the drivers over the last year has been the migration flow from the northern triangle countries. The reason that focus is what i talk about thats in the Legal Framework specifically for settlement agreements which had a significant loophole if you come to our country with a child will only hold you for 20 days that was not long enough to get through the immigration process so that was the generation to apprehend the families entering illegally so often times they would go within days so with this president cbp with i. C. E. And others we instituted a network of initiatives and rules and regulation that have given us the tools to close the loopholes. In may there was 144 apprehensions one 144,000 apprehensions the next month 42000 we targeted those family unit specifically. How do you know thats not seasonal . The numbers will tell you it is ironic but october seasonally the numbers go up right now seasonally in some demographics but for the past six months they have steadily declined even though the seasonal times you would see an increase from the previous years so from the height through the end of last month we sought an 85 percent reduction in families so on that front we made tremendous strides to close loopholes but what we are seeing is a change in the demographics and we change about we talk about this is not a surprise to us the organizations they change their tactics and techniques and procedures they saw we were making progress for illegal immigration in tribal countries taking those dollars out of the pocket so they shifted to supporting additional migration from countries as well as mexican nationals. Far away not just central or latin america. Correct african africans, haitians, brazilians the list goes on and then northern tribal countries. How many are extra continental . We are seeing thousands from this time last year and increase sometimes 300 percent these numbers are relatively fairly manageable but then you see this as an issue we have to get out in front of it mexican nationals and specifically families and they are telling them you grab a kid that your passport to the United States but i can assure you we take the same process with those initiatives that we used in the triangle countries and the mexican we started we are flying individuals now into the interior of mexico so overall what i refer to right now where we are at we have all but ended catch and release specifically for northern triangle countries. It has been reported remain in mexico or migrant policies are those who apply for asylum to weigh in mexico for their proceeding that has been about 55000 is that individuals . Its all demographics yes it has been around 55000 but we found a medium bowl for that program as we go through due process immigration proceeding. But there have been hundreds of thousand family units from the northern triangle countries what happened 400,000 family units . 65 or 70 percent were family units over the last six months because of initiatives we have reduce that flow by 85 percent they just arent coming anymore this is one thing i have been trying to say stop listening to the cartels into the human Smuggling Organizations they are lying they are getting rich off of your backs and now because of where we are at with your child as your passport we have shut that down trying to tell the families now it is working 85 percent reduction. So today if families are they all asking for asylum . No. Thats a good point traditionally they havent because of the broken system they didnt have to now before we said we cannot retain you longer than 20 days right regardless what you claim asylum are not i will continue to say it we are doing all this as these initial initiatives but we still Want Congress to pass legislation to address this. They know what to do it would take them 15 minutes and they could end 95 percent of the Immigration Crisis. It would address that we could detain them longer than 20 days and during the immigration proceedings and in addition we can also send unaccompanied minors back to their families from where they came in their home country. Some of the families are here but some are there for example mexico and canada we can send you back to your families if you are a tribal country we cannot that should be addressed in congress and the last thing is really it there is no standard they know what to say to have credible fear only in the end there found not to be credible then to give i. C. E. Morbid space more bed space. What did cbp get . We have a positive factor one one. 375 that is significant for us we can use that current funding as one of the tools that we will talk about that in a minute. I want to come back to the application of network of policies but i want to reiterate this will apply to family units from the northern triangle that arrives from mexico . No. It does not apply to mexico but we are in negotiations of mexico to expand that because i started to explain although we have addressed the illegal migration flow what we see now is an increase of single adults and families of those initiatives right now are not applied but were working with mexico to expand that also guatemala and honduras to expand that so they also receive mexican nationals as well. We are working with the country and the ironic thing is right now we have other countries stepping up and they are doing more to help us. That is an important step statement. So what about the extra continental families like africa or the middle east . Are they waiting in mexico right now . It is expanding because mexico is a Spanish Speaking country we are in consultation the Smuggling Organization they were given that information we are asking for their assistance we are confident they will agree to that then we have the same conversation we are having with guatemala and honduras and el salvador with those demographics as well so we are headed to that direction. So before they could enter previously detained installatio installation. It was reported today excuse me reuters reported today that this announcement about interior repatriation has been done often in the past and is now launched again. That there is potential for having mexicans going to guatemala . Under the aca this is very important to the genesis is if someone has an asylum claim what we try to encourage a couple things. Reach out and get assistance if you have legitimate asylum you should be trying to get logically the first country to get to dont give your life savings to the cartel dont listen to the Smuggling Organizations that will abuse you and treat you Nothing Better than a piece of trash and commodity. Just the other day we apprehended a tractor trailer load of immigrants trying to illegally enter they asked they all had on tshirts that had a letter spraypainted on the tshirts and on their hands they were marked like cattle. Dont listen to those organizations they will treat you like cattle. If you have legitimate asylum claim get to the next country thats the genesis. So we have the ability to apply that to mexican nationals as well we are having those discussions with guatemala to expand that and to share this as a regional crisis america is not the only country that borders mexico we should share the Immigration Crisis as regional partners thats guatemala and el salvador and honduras make you think these countries can handle that is bona fide asylum claims . We are working with them every single day to improve capacity we just released funding back to the northern triangle countries specifically designed to improve asylum capacity as well as enforcement ability to go after cartels. Keep in mind during the height of the crisis United States of america, we were overwhelmed. There is no single country in the world that can handle the level and volume at the height of the crisis not even the United States. That is why we have to Work Together with other countries to address this as a regional crisis. The fact we had policies in place that enabled and encouraged to lynch the criminal cartel that is an important issue with implications that its in their interest because its not just human smuggling but they dont just smuggle humans but drugs and gang members take advantage of this like 400 some ms 13 members per year which is one a day thats just one transnational gang that has exploited the opportunity to take care of policy to get here. And thats just to be catch so that segues into the National Security crisis. Again its not just immigrants and humanitarian crisis is also National Security as well one is gang members we apprehended a thousand gang members over 23 gang such as to we apprehended but also to use the humanitarian effort over 50 percent of Border Patrol was taken offline with the human Smuggling Organizations doing cracks they were exploiting them in one area so they would address that over 1000 gang members over 800,000 pounds of drugs. Think of that statistic and then they contributed another 300,000 pounds of drugs or narcotics heroine beth thats all of those went up last year thats enough to kill 2 Million People in the United States 60000 individuals died because of direct result of narcotics 68000 thats more people than in the entire vietnam conflict. Every town and city and state because mark my words if you have a meth overdose a bet that comes from the border mexico can produce math which has skyrocketed faster and cheaper and its more potent so a lot of time it was manufactured in the United States now its going down mexico has a super lab. We have laws that target that. We talk about the crisis at the border and the need for a wall as one tool is not just illegal immigration but also stop being the drugs pouring into this country killing 60000 people last year. This affects every community in our country. And its an issue for mexico as well with their corruption and the cartel. How much of a threat is the cartel to the United States . A lot of people make the claim there is risk of the cartel overflow because they are afraid of us Law Enforcement . If you talk about violence but Cartel Activity impacting this country yes. We just describe the drugs pouring in Cartel Members dont just operate in mexico but here in the United States may have their network in every town in the country. Working with the gang. Absolutely. So cartels and Smuggling Organizations are alive and well in mexico. Violence is not spillover actually el paso is one of the safest cities for many years for its size. The majority is cartel against cartel. But people need to understand why is there so much violence in mexico . Why are the cartels warring over each other for the smuggling routes . Because its so profitable. It is a multibillion dollar industry for them every single year we estimate they are worth 60 billion. It is unbelievable thats another reason why we work with the government of mexico to stop the weapons and also elicit currency going southbound as well. The cartels are alive and well. 4 billion per year. I think that is a conservative estimate. This is one reason we need a multifaceted approach to this. What do you think has worked . Mostly the changing of our policies are working with other countries . Will it is mexico doing to address the influx . All of the above so on the human smuggling side it has been a combination of this president s strategy, cbp and i. C. E. And others to execute as well as the cooperation of mexico in northern triangle countries were also working with panama but mexico has stepped up with 20000 troops face strengthen their southern border their apprehensions doubled they also strengthened interior enforcement back in may we had groups last month i think we had two groups it is a huge difference so with all of that and respect to illegal migration but the drug crisis we still have a ways to go 800,000 plus 300,000 in ashes what we seize. We know volumes a week in greater even fathom are still getting to its border making the right every city stay in town in the country. Obviously barriers help to stop people. How much wall has been built. 93 miles. This is important this is something that the experts have asked for that Border Patrol agents and the leadership has asked for this isnt something the president asked for. The president asked the experts what it needed and he is delivering on what they have asked for. When we talk about the wall is not just the wall its a system it is part of a multilayers structure of personnel and technology where those three approaches have pulled us together effectively in strategic locations it has absolutely made an impact on illegal migration as well as drugs and bad people every single place that has been implemented and we have the data to show that. I have seen it. Now with the system is not just a physical barrier integrated technology and access roads all the thing Border Patrol agents have asked for its all going into the wall system. I can say without hesitation every mile of new wall built this country is more safe because of it. It increases the Border Patrol capacity to do what they need to do is it going to be impenetrable . Know. But it will impede with that technology and personnel but then theyll come in and do the apprehension but technology is a huge part of this but at the end of the day tongueincheek we Say Technology cannot make an arrest. You still need agents. You may need fewer. Exactly but that is an important part of that all of those are very important not just one or the other but all three together and thats what we are doing. I saw your recent testimony before the Senate Committee you mentioned an estimated 150,000 who evaded our security at the border. I think that is a conservative estimate it is called a got away is not a Scientific Method or super complicated a Border Patrol agent may go to an area where there was no technology and they see footprints on the ground across the border they can physically count the footprints or they see tire tracks. Its not complicated or scientific they are experts at that just to look at those footprints. And then we estimated 350,000. Thats exactly right. And the majority of the families of unaccompanied children and then just sit down and wait for Border Patrol agents. Those got a ways are running those are not the good with the good ones. They are not all bad but they are not all good. We also caught pedophiles and rapist and murderers. How many of those are acceptable . How many to allow into this country thats a question we should be asking from Law Enforcement the answer is easy it is zero. Thats why we need a wall along with other things. And with disparagement and then to say for those who are overzealous how do you answer those . It is a lot. People who say that have not been down to the border they have not actually seen Border Patrol agents and officers do their job. I have. I know that they are lying at cbp 4900 are secure. So they saw somebody are you trying to illegally enter the country . What they saw is a human being with respect to training and dna to risk their own lives 4900 times also with healthcare we average between 70 and 80 hospital visits every day. Per day. We got somebody in that exceeded our capability and we immediately took them to a medical ems facility 70 or 80 times a day 4900 rescues. When her own political leaders saying were running concentration camps that is alive. When they say drinking out of toilets it is a lie and i do get frustrated. Come down these are mothers and brothers and fathers ancestors perk i have been there for i have seen a Border Patrol agent kneel down and talk to a seven yearold girl holding the hands of her nine yearold brother who suffered at the hands of a Smuggling Organization talking to them in spanish treating them as if they were their own. Anybody who says otherwise you have not been there. This is a good time to plug the annual border tour we do give people the opportunity to go down and see. It is important. It is. They can understand the issues better. So a couple of other things