WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) issued the following statement regarding explosive testimony heard by the Committee last week from retired Border Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke, the former chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector, and the subsequent lack of coverage by many in the corporate media. Chief Heitke’s full testimony can be viewed here.
 
“Last week, Chief Heitke exposed the disastrous, real-world consequences of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ open-borders policies and the lengths to which they have gone to hide the truth about those policies from the American people. Not only was Chief Heitke ordered to keep quiet about the drastic increase in arrests of illegal aliens with potential ties to terrorism, but he was also ordered to move illegal aliens out of sight of the media to avoid inconvenient public attention. 
 
“The corporate media has largely ignored these revelations. This is a disservice to the American people. Chief Heitke’s testimony shows that the Biden-Harris administration has already tried to hide the truth about what’s going on at the border. They should not be getting any additional help from the media.” 
 
Background: In testimony before the Committee last week, Chief Heitke revealed the shocking actions and orders he observed while managing Border Patrol operations for the San Diego Sector. 

• Forced to Hide Information on Arrests of Special/Significant Interest Aliens: “Prior to this administration, the San Diego sector averaged 10-15 [Significant Interest Aliens] per year. Once word was out that the border was far easier to cross, San Diego went to over 100 SIAs in 2022, way over 100 SIAs in 2023 and more than that this year. These are only the ones we caught. At the time, I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIA’s or mention any of the arrests. The administration was trying to convince the public that there was no threat at the border.” Watch here.
• Ordered to Move Illegal Aliens Out of Sight of the Public: “Through pressure from the administration, my headquarters became more interested in the fiction being portrayed in the media and not at all concerned with reality. Each time we asked for help in dealing with a new issue it fell on deaf ears. At times in San Diego, we had 2,000 or more aliens sitting in between the fences asking to turn themselves in. I was told to move them out of sight of the media.” Watch here.
• Observed $150,000 Flights of Detained Illegal Aliens from California to Texas: “The large numbers also had and still have a negative impact on the San Diego community. I had to release illegal aliens by the hundreds each day into communities who couldn’t support them. To quiet the problem two flights a week were provided from San Diego to Texas. These flights simply brought aliens that would have been released in San Diego over to Texas. Each flight cost approximately $150,000. This was the administration’s way of trying to quiet the border-wide crisis.” Watch here. 

A review of news outlets such as the Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and USA Today revealed no mention of Heitke’s testimony.

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