Former San Diego Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke testified before the House Homeland Security Committee, alleging that the Biden-Harris administration intentionally concealed the severity of the ongoing migrant crisis and the rise in terror-linked individuals crossing the U.S. southern border.
Heitke, who retired in the summer of 2023, accused the administration of trying to “quiet the border-wide crisis” through various measures, including the suppression of critical information and the redirection of illegal migrants.
During his testimony, Heitke revealed that while managing the San Diego sector, he was under constant pressure to release illegal aliens into local communities that were unprepared to support them. “I had to release illegal aliens by the hundreds each day into communities who could not support them,” Heitke stated, adding that administration officials devised a plan to move migrants to Texas to avoid media scrutiny.
“To quiet the problem, two flights a week were provided from San Diego to Texas,” Heitke explained. “These flights simply brought aliens that would have been released in San Diego over to Texas.” Each flight reportedly cost $150,000, which Heitke described as the administration’s way of downplaying the border crisis. “This was the administration’s way of trying to quiet the border-wide crisis,” he emphasized.
The most alarming aspect of Heitke’s testimony centered around what he described as a significant rise in the number of “Special Interest Aliens” (SIAs) — individuals suspected of posing national security threats due to their country of origin or terror group affiliations.
Before the Biden administration took office, Heitke noted that the San Diego sector typically apprehended 10 to 15 SIAs per year. However, this number skyrocketed to over 100 in 2022 and continued to grow in subsequent years.
“These are only the ones we caught,” Heitke testified, adding that more than 1.7 million “gotaways” have crossed the border undetected, with their terror affiliations or risks remaining unknown.
Heitke claimed that he was barred from discussing these increases in SIA arrests. “At the time, I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIAs or mention any of the arrests. The administration was trying to convince the public there was no threat at the border,” Heitke said.
The former chief also revealed that he was directed to move over 2,000 migrants apprehended between the two U.S.-Mexico border fences out of sight of the media.
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