Vice President Kamala Harris is getting hammered over policies she supported or implemented as Joe Biden’s second-in-command, especially over her role as the de facto “border czar” following years of record illegal immigration that has flooded American cities and led to an increase in crime. That includes a retired Border Patrol chief who confirmed on Monday that Harris never spoke to him, even after she was tasked to lead a major facet of the immigration crisis.
Retired Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, who headed the agency during the final year of the Trump administration and the first seven months of the Biden administration, reported that policy briefings with the White House ceased entirely when the current administration took office. This lack of communication persisted despite Harris’s appointment by the White House to tackle the “root causes” of illegal immigration from Central America, the Daily Caller reports.
“Absolutely not,” Scott said to the Daily Caller when asked if Harris ever personally spoke with him during his time leading the Border Patrol. “As soon as the [Biden-Harris] administration came in, we were basically told in no uncertain terms that if they wanted our opinions, they would ask, but they never asked. At no time did Biden or Harris ever ask to meet with or get briefed by U.S. Border Patrol,” Scott continued. “No meetings at all.”
Scott also confirmed that the lack of communication continued even after the White House appointed Harris in March 2021 to address the “root causes” of illegal migration from Central America, which constitutes a significant portion of illegal border crossings. Although Harris and her allies have recently dismissed the “border czar” title given to her by the media, Scott argues that she was still assigned a clear mandate to tackle a major aspect of the immigration crisis—an effort he believes she has failed to deliver on.
“It was very clear to us and everyone else that she was appointed to actually take the lead and spearhead an initiative on border security,” Scott said. “One of the facets was on the root causes. So if you only focus on the root causes, she went down to Central America, and the countries that she talked about on her one and only trip, the illegal immigration from those countries like doubled or tripled,” the retired chief explained. “She still failed miserably, and there was no follow-up.”
The retired chief’s remarks to the DCNF align with the sentiments of other Border Patrol leaders regarding their lack of contact with Harris. Former Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, who succeeded Scott and led the agency until June of last year, disclosed to CBS News that he “never had one conversation” with either Biden or Harris, calling the absence of communication “a problem.” Additionally, Jon Anfinsen, the vice president of the Border Patrol union, reported last month that Harris never engaged with him or anyone else in his organization, despite her role in leading immigration efforts.
Scott added: “We had weekly White House meetings in the Trump administration. It wasn’t always with the president or vice president, it was staff, but both Vice President Pence and President Trump were very keenly aware of what was going on at the border, and we had a very high level of confidence they were being briefed. At no time did the Biden-Harris administration ever want any of that information.”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.