Matthew Hudak, the recently retired deputy chief of the Border Patrol, said Biden administration officials in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policed the media presence of he and his colleagues and intentionally blocked them from engaging with the public.
"Dealing with this tidal wave of humanity that was hitting our border on a daily basis – very quickly, news stories, statements being put out condemning our agents, being critical of their efforts, spread like wildfire, and we had our hands tied behind our back and were unable to counter or respond to any of that with the actual facts," Hudak said in an interview with the Washington Examiner published Friday.
Hudak is among three current or former senior officials at the top of the Border Patrol who told the Examiner that they believe White House officials purposely ordered them to be kept out of the public eye.
"We aren't allowed to speak to media without HQ approval. It is almost always denied," said a senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Office of Public Affairs at HQ. They have final say on all media engagements. Before that, the sector chiefs had that ability."
The U.S. southern border has been in crisis throughout the Biden administration, with an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants crossing since Biden was elected and undid most of the restrictions put in place under Donald Trump.
Rodney Scott, who led the Border Patrol in the Trump administration in 2020 and for the first six months of the Biden administration, told the Examiner the Trump administration "expanded and freed up communication significantly." But under Biden, "it was a very, very decisive, like 180-degree turn. … But all national media has been restricted. I wasn't allowed to talk to anybody."
When Biden took office, his appointees at DHS immediately clashed with career officials, Scott said.
"The new chief of staff for CBP [Customs and Border Patrol] walked into the building," Scott said. "Her name was Lise Clavel — kind of laid down the law. One of the first things that they rolled out was that she will be managing all public relations, all media, and that we needed to go through her for approvals."
The third official told the Examiner the crackdown turned the Biden administration into the "least transparent administration we have ever experienced."
Scott was forced out in mid-2021 after he wrote a letter to superiors against the Biden administration's internal order for agents not to call migrants arrested at the border "illegal aliens," a term used in federal statute that Congress wrote into law decades ago, the Examiner reported.
Scott claimed the clampdown on the Border Patrol was intentional and based on political appointees' vendetta for the organization.
"[DHS Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy Blas Nuñez-Neto] told me to my face that 'we do not like the Border Patrol. We do not trust the Border Patrol,' " Scott said.
A CBP spokesperson told the Examiner the agency "is committed to transparency with stakeholders and the public that we serve and view public communication as a key part of our national security and public safety missions."
"These assertions are false, as evidenced by CBP senior career leaders' frequent media engagements and daily social media posts," the spokesperson added.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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