DHS Nielsen: Border Security Is ‘Near System-Wide Meltdown’

Border security is collapsing because the cartels and migrants are exploiting Congress’ refusal to close loopholes through the border, homeland secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Monday morning.

“The situation at our Southern Border has gone from a crisis, to a national emergency, to a near system-wide meltdown,” Nielsen said at Auburn University’s Center for Cyber & Homeland Security. Her prepared speech said:

There is no more fundamental responsibility for a nation.  And yet, the American people have been let down by our government again…and again. I want to cut through the politics to tell you loud and clear:  there is NO  “manufactured” crisis at our Southern Border.  There is a real-life humanitarian and security catastrophe. Late last year, we were apprehending 50,000 – 60,000 migrants a month. Last month, we apprehended more than 75,000—the highest in over a decade. And today I can tell you that we are on track to interdict nearly 100,000 migrants this month …

I say this with the utmost sincerity and urgency:  the system is breaking.  And our communities, our law enforcement personnel, and the migrants themselves are paying the price.

Congress needs to fix the problem, she said:

Because of outdated laws, misguided court decisions, and a massive backlog of cases, we are usually forced to release these groups into the United States.  And we have virtually no hope of removing them in the future, despite the fact that the vast majority who apply for asylum do not qualify for it.

…