Border Patrol boss blasts Biden administration for loose immigration laws after chaotic video showed HUNDREDS of migrants storming wall: ‘We need to get tougher’

Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens has criticized the Biden administration over immigration laws, saying the nation needs stricter immigration policies.

“I think we need to look at the asylum laws and make sure that only people with a legitimate claim can apply for asylum,” Owens said. CBS News.

“I think we should be able to enforce the immigration laws that are on the books and hold people accountable when they choose to break the law.”

He answered “yes” when asked if he was talking about federal immigration laws.

Border Patrol, a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, needs more resources and tools to impose higher “consequences” on those who enter the country illegally, Owens said.

“I’m talking about prison time. I am talking about expulsion from the country and banning you from coming back because you chose to come illegally rather than through the established legal routes that we have set out for you,” he explained.

Border Patrol has seen record numbers of encounters at the border over the past three years: more than two million per budget year.

Owens also addressed the controversial Texas SB4 law, which would allow state law enforcement to step into immigration enforcement, which is currently a job for federal agencies.

The chief said the law “will not stop us from doing our jobs,” and that there is “no better partner for the Border Patrol than the Texas Department of Public Safety.”

He added: “We’ve been working with that agency for as long as I’ve been here, and I don’t see it ever stopping. They have always been very good at complementing our mission.

‘They support us when we are in the field, and we do the same for them. So whatever the laws they’re going to enforce, our mission remains constant. Their mission remains constant.”

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court issued an order once again blocking Texas from enacting SB4, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the tough new immigration law to take effect.

The conservative majority’s decision rejected an emergency request from the Biden administration, which says the law is a clear violation of federal authority that would cause chaos in immigration law.

It was also unclear where migrants ordered to leave might go if the law is ultimately allowed. It calls for sending them to ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border even if they are not Mexican citizens.

But the Mexican government said on Tuesday that it would not accept the return of migrants from the state of Texas to its territory “under any circumstances”. Mexico is not required to accept deportations of anyone except Mexican nationals.

The Department of Homeland Security said the federal government would also continue to challenge the law, which will “further complicate” the job of an “already strained” workforce. The agency will not assist in efforts to enforce the law known as Senate Bill 4.

The law is seen by opponents as the most dramatic state effort to control immigration since an Arizona law more than a decade ago, parts of which were struck down by the Supreme Court. Critics have also said the Texas law could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the law “harmful and unconstitutional” and said it would burden law enforcement while creating confusion. She called on Republicans in Congress to resolve the issue with a federal border security bill.

Texas, for its part, has argued it has the right to take action over what authorities call an ongoing crisis at the southern border. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement that it is “prepared to address any influx” of the state’s inmate population related to the state law.