OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sounded off on Wednesday about an alleged incident at the U.S.-Mexico border.
At a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Texas, which Democrats boycotted and refused to attend, Greene asked U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz about an alleged explosive device found by Border Patrol agents. As noted by Mediaite, it turned out to be a ball of sand and duct tape.
“Chief Ortiz, are you aware that there was an explosive device found by Border Patrol agents on January 17th in an area called No Man’s Land, and there’s surveillance of who put it there? And guess what? It wasn’t Americans; it was cartels. Are you aware of that?” Greene asked.
Ortiz declined to acknowledge the incident, citing classified information.
“I will tell you that some of this information that I receive, I receive in a confidential [sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF)], so I’m going to be a little hesitant of briefing what I know and what I don’t know with respect to some of those, an event like that,” he explained.
“I understand, Chief Ortiz, but I’m not going to be confidential because I think people deserve to know,” Greene declared. “Our Border Patrol agents should not be in those type of conditions where they are at risk of being blown to pieces by the cartels, who, by the way, are criminals, and they should be treated as such.”
“As a matter of fact, I’ve co-sponsored legislation to declare war on the cartels because they are definitely declaring war on us, the American people, and our Border Patrol agents, and I’ve had enough of it, and I know Americans have had enough of it,” she added.
“Now this was supposed to be a full committee. But as you can see, the Democrats are not here. They decided to not — to not show. Why? Well, they said coming here was just a political stunt. You tell me, taking a hearing to the point of the crisis for a firsthand view, are boycotting a hearing because you know we’re going to shine a light on the truth. Which of those is a political stunt? I’d say the political stunt are these empty chairs,” she continued.
WATCH:
Every state is a border state.
In just the last two years under the Biden Administration, fentanyl deaths in my district in Northwest Georgia have increased over 350%.
Americans are dying, and Democrats don’t even bother to show up for work. pic.twitter.com/4yjAGeNp27
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) March 15, 2023
Greene tweeted a photo of the alleged object.
“Explosive found by Border Patrol Agents Jan 17th,” she wrote. “Not only are the Cartels murdering Americans everyday [sic] through drugs and crime, but now they are planting bombs on our land in our country. Our US military needs to take action against the Mexican Cartels. End this Cartel led war against America!”
Fox News National Correspondent Bill Melugin responded to Greene by saying a “high-level CBP source” told him it was “fake” and just “filled with dirt.”
NEW: A high level CBP source tells me that this was a fake, and was actually filled with dirt. It was discovered by Border Patrol agents in Rio Grande City in the RGV, and while it appeared nefarious, I’m told it did not contain any explosives. https://t.co/x1iWUQ4scZ
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 15, 2023
Last week, a federal judge in Florida delivered a massive blow to President Joe Biden’s administration over its “catch and release” policy, which allowed foreign nationals in the country illegally to be released into the U.S. instead of deporting them.
Florida state Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the “catch and release” policy, arguing that the program is “illegal.”
A federal judge agreed.
“In a scathing 109-page opinion, U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell for the Northern District of Florida Pensacola Division ruled the Biden administration’s ‘catch-and-release’ policy is unlawful and ‘due to be vacated.’ He also denied the administration’s motion for summary judgment, vacated the administration’s “Parole+ATD” Policy under the Administrative Procedures Act, and gave the administration seven days to seek appellate review and comply with federal law and his ruling,” Just The News reported.
Judge Wetherell ruled, “The Court finds in favor of Florida because, as detailed below, the evidence establishes that Defendants have effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens flooding into the country by prioritizing ‘alternatives to detention’ over actual detention and by releasing more than a million aliens into the country – on ‘parole’ or pursuant to the exercise of ‘prosecutorial discretion’ under a wholly inapplicable statute – without even initiating removal proceedings.”
The judge tore into the Biden administration’s policies: “Collectively, these actions were akin to posting a flashing ‘Come In, We’re Open’ sign on the southern border. The unprecedented ‘surge’ of aliens that started arriving at the Southwest Border almost immediately after President Biden took office and that has continued unabated over the past two years was a predictable consequence of these actions.”
“Today’s ruling affirms what we have known all along, President Biden is responsible for the border crisis and his unlawful immigration policies make this country less safe,” Moody said. “A federal judge is now ordering Biden to follow the law, and his administration should immediately begin securing the border to protect the American people.”
