Apprehension numbers are down at the border with President Donald Trump in office, but Congress needs to codify his policies so immigration doesn't once again spiral out of control under another leader like former President Joe Biden, U.S. Customs and Border Protection senior adviser Ron Vitiello told Newsmax on Tuesday.
"Leadership matters," Vitiello said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "Consequence matters."
Trump has initiated a number of executive orders, including declaring an emergency at the border, allowing the Department of Defense to deploy 10,000 troops to assist the CBP, and more," he noted.
In addition, Mexico, after negotiations, has agreed to put 10,000 troops on its side of the border to mute the cartels' presence in sending people to the United States, Vitiello said.
"Things have changed in a dramatic way, all due to the spirit and leadership that Donald Trump ran on and is now able to execute on through the frontline of the Department of Homeland Security and the men and women of the Border Patrol," he added.
But now, Congress needs to "backstop" what Trump has accomplished, including adding resources and authorities, "so that if another Biden-like presidency comes in the future, God forbid, that this doesn't happen to the country again," said Vitiello.
Meanwhile, the cartels remain after becoming "enormously rich" under the Biden administration.
But with Trump, ICE is going after the "worst of the worst, taking these criminals off the street," said Vitiello.
"This is another example where consequences, prosecution, cooperation with our partners," he said. "Mexico has stepped up. Canada has stepped up, and countries in and outside of the region are stepping up, taking their individuals back. They're incentivized to do so because of the leadership of the president."
Vitiello also discussed Wednesday's House Oversight Committee hearing, during which mayors from New York City, Chicago, Boston, and Denver are to testify about the actions of their sanctuary cities.
"I want them to be asked why they abandoned their oath to the cities and towns that they're elected to protect," he said. "Why are they choosing illegal aliens who are also criminals in their communities over the rule of law, over the safety and security of the towns and cities that they administrate, that they're the mayors of? And so I want them to get on record and say why they're flouting federal law."
Vitiello added that he wants Congress to put out a "bold statement" that says they will "end this nonsense."
"What the president has done in executive orders now have to be codified in law so that this doesn't happen in places like Boston and Chicago," he said. "Just to give you an idea of the magnitude, the recidivism rate in Chicago is over 75%. What does that mean? That means people who commit crimes and get arrested are likely to commit more — three times more likely to commit crimes again."
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