'Politics Over Safety': Former CBP Head Mark Morgan Accuses Biden of Making U.S. Less Safe

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Jan 25, 2021 12:49 AM EST

Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan accused the administration of President Joe Biden of making the U.S. less safe after he swore in last week.

Mark Morgan said that Biden made the country less safe "with the stroke of a pen."

"It's pure politics over public safety," Morgan told Breitbart News. The former commissioner noted that he knew what their team said to the transition team, and he believed that the new administration did not speak to experts with the CBP and Border Patrol about which policies should remain.

Mark Morgan cited the removal of the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), also known as the "Remain in Mexico" program. He said the program should have been kept, MBNC News reported.

"I know the facts and data and analysis that was provided. I know what they told them and gave them that showed that the wall works," Mark Morgan said in the report.

Mark Morgan on Immigration Policy Changes

The "Remain in Mexico" program is a policy that focuses on deterring asylum seekers trying to enter the United States through the southern border. Mark Morgan said the Biden administration should have retained the program.

According to The Guardian report, the program highlighted that asylum seeker would have to wait for their court hearings in Mexican border towns, such as Ciudad Juarez, Mexicali, and Matamoros.

However, activists claimed that it exposed highly vulnerable migrants to physical harm and illness in an unfamiliar and dangerous environment since it includes areas with some of the world's highest murder rates.

Mark Morgan said removing the "Remain in Mexico" program and ending the border wall system construction were something they have been saying the "most dangerous thing" that "he was going to get rid of on day one, and that's what he did."

He stressed that the program alone attributed to the absolute reduction of migrant families coming from Central America.

According to Breitbart, CBP reported a 92 percent reduction in the number of Central American migrant families crossing the border from Mexico from May 2019 to February 2020.

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would halt deportations of some undocumented immigrants in the United States for 100 days.

The DHS also announced that it would stop new enrollments in the "Remain in Mexico" program, according to an NPR report.

Acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske said the country faces enormous operational challenges at the southwest border as it confronts the global pandemic.

Pekoske explained that halting some enforcement policies would let them thoroughly review the immigration policies and programs of the United States.

Under his memo, Pekoske directed DHS-sub agencies CBP, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to review immigration policies and set interim guidelines for civil enforcement as the DHS develops its final priorities.

The DHS acting head said the department wants to focus its resources where it is most needed.

Thousands of migrants from Central America have moved forward to Mexico in recent days. Guatemala security forces are attempting to block a caravan of migrants from Honduras since last week.

Some migrants have been able to avoid security forces by moving off the roads. However, Mexico has imposed strict border forces, making crossing into the country difficult for the migrants.

According to Guatemala's top immigration official, Guillermo Diaz, at least 7,000 to 8,000 Hondurans have crossed into Guatemala in an "irregular" manner.