EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The new interim chief of the U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso says the recent deployment of additional Department of Defense troops and equipment will contribute to making the border safer.
Walter N. Slosar also credited the end of the use of parole to release migrants into American communities with encounters in the sector plummeting from a peak of 2,700 a day two years ago to 60 on Wednesday.
“We are pushing as many resources into our border areas as possible,” Slosar told reporters on Thursday. “Our intention is to ensure there are no illegal entries between ports of entry, and when we do have illegal entries, maximize our prosecutorial efforts and that our removals are at 100 percent.”
Slosar, an El Paso native and graduate of Mountain View High School, took over the sector last month. He says the Border Patrol has not released any migrants into the community since then.
“It is my goal for there to be no illegal entries between the ports of entry. That is the most humane way to handle the border environment. That keeps people from making the trip, from dying along the way, from being subject to the criminal organizations and the atrocities they put them (the migrants) through,” Slosar said.
Nearly 200 migrants died in canals, deserts and mountains between Hudspeth County and the New Mexico-Arizona state line last year, according to federal agencies and immigrant advocates who track such fatalities.
U.S. officials and security experts say transnational criminal organizations control migrant smuggling along the border and often abuse, extort and rob individuals trying to get into the United States.
Border Report has documented several cases of migrant kidnapping and hostage taking at stash houses the region, particularly in New Mexico, where transnational criminal organizations like La Empresa, the Sinaloa cartel and La Linea operate.
Slosar said the Border Patrol continues to identify and disrupt migrant stash house operations and means to cut down on the number of “got aways” so they don’t end up imperiled in such venues.
Slosar last month took over the sector from former Chief Agent Anthony Good. The move was one of several the Trump administration made along the U.S.-Mexico border as it seeks to move away from more open Biden-era asylum and humanitarian policies.
Trump ordered the deployment of 1,500 Department of Defense troops to the border shortly after he took over on Jan. 20 and has reportedly green-lighted the upcoming deployment of 5,050 additional troops. The Hill reported the latest deployment will include a Stryker armored vehicle brigade.
“Department of Defense is helping us; Texas National Guard is helping us, (Texas) DPS has helped us as have our federal, state and local partners,” Slosar said. “I do anticipate the influx of DoD and Texas National Guard to maximize efforts across the border. We are going to deny illegal entry (and) their equipment is also part of that package.”
Fernando Garcia, executive director of El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights, said the tough talk from the Trump administration and the “militarization” of the U.S.-Mexico border is unnecessary and sends the wrong message to border communities.
“What they are doing is making this one of the most militarized borders in the world, and we are not at war,” Garcia said. “This massive deployment of troops will have consequences on the quality of life of residents and on the human rights of migrants. Soldiers are not trained to enforce immigration law. This perpetuates the erroneous message that migrants are criminals and the only way to deal with them is with soldiers and tanks.”
Garcia also lamented that asylum-seekers with genuine claims and fear of persecution are being turned away from the U.S. border and, in some cases, forced to turn to smugglers.
“They don’t understand people are being forcibly displaced. Most who seek asylum were forced to leave their countries because of economic conditions, violence or persecution. This policy does not offer them any recourse,” he said.