Live from Washington, D.C. Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Mark Morgan, former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the microphone to discuss the border’s effect on all of America and leadership differences of former President Trump and President Biden.
Leahy: We are joined now by Mark Morgan, the former acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Welcome, Mark.
Morgan: Thanks, Mike.
Leahy: When did you serve as acting commissioner?
Morgan: From 2019 to 2020.
Leahy: Under President Trump?
Morgan: That’s correct.
Leahy: And what’s happened in the period of time since the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Joe Biden has been in and in charge.
Morgan: A complete and utter loss of control of our southwest border. Every aspect of our border security has been dismantled.
I think every aspect of our nation’s public health, public safety, and national security has also been negatively impacted by the Biden administration. Hands down.
Leahy: Mark, is this intentional on their part?
Morgan: Absolutely. That’s a great question, Michael. I get asked that quite a bit. I’ve been serving this country for 35 years, six administrations, both Republican and Democrat. And what they’re doing that’s jeopardizing every aspect of our national security and safety.
It makes no sense other than the fact they believe what they’re doing is there’s a perceived political benefit. That being, every single illegal alien that they find a pathway to citizenship, they think is going to equate to a Democratic vote. This is about perpetual political power and it’s disgusting.
Leahy: Is this an impeachable offense for President Biden and for the head of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkis and many others.
Morgan: I think it’s a fair, legitimate topic of discussion because what I believe is that this president, as well as Secretary of Mayorkas have abdicated their constitutional responsibility oath to Americans by what they’re doing on the southwest border.
I think it would take some legal scholars that know a little bit more about constitutional law than I do. But I think it’s a fair question to ask, what can we do to push back, given the fact that we have and of course, my view is he is legal, but not legitimate because I don’t think the election in the battleground states was free and fair.
But, on January 6, the Congress, in a joint session, confirmed a 306 to 232 Electoral College count. And he was inaugurated on January 20th. So there he is, as our president, legally destroying the country. What can be done?
Morgan: I think that’s another important question that your listeners and I hope they really pay attention to because when it comes to the Southwest border, they’re doubling triple, quadrupling down on their open border policies.
Let me give you just a couple of stats. So far this fiscal year we know two months in a row, over 200,000 and 1.5 million apprehensions.
They’ve released over 600,000 in the United States willingly, and they’ve allowed another 350,000 to 400,000 got aways. Drugs are pouring in. Gangs are pouring in.
I could keep going on forever. And so look, at the end of the day, they’re not going to change. They’re not. So what I say is the states are our last line of defense.
Leahy: That’s a very good point.
Morgan: Michael, everybody keeps talking about 2022 and I agree 2022 matters. But we can’t wait till then. We need more states like Florida and like Texas that are stepping, up filing lawsuits, and pushing back about I think with this administration, the unconstitutional policies they are putting forward.
Leahy: A very good point. Let me follow up. What about states like Tennessee?
Morgan: Yes.
Leahy: So here we are. We don’t have a border, but we’re in, you know, we’re impacted by all of this.
Governor Bill Lee hasn’t really done much that I can tell to aid the governors of Texas and Florida in this pushback against the unconstitutional illegal violation of our immigration laws by the Biden maladministration. What advice would you give Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee?
Morgan: Michael, that is one of the most important questions right now that you’ve raised that is not being raised enough. What I would say is, follow the lead of Missouri. The Remain in Mexico program, that lawsuit.
Missouri participated in that and they won. And the judge and I keep telling people it wasn’t just important that they won. And this administration has to reinstate a migrant protection protocol.
What it did is it showed the entire nation that not just border states are impacted. And that’s why I keep saying what happens in the Southwest border doesn’t stay there.
Every town, city, and state in this nation is a border town, city, state in this nation. But let me give you a quick one. Drugs. If you have a meth overdose in Tennessee, guess where that meth came from? The southwest border.
We need to message that better. And again, let’s follow the lead of Missouri was follow the circuit. We need other states like Tennessee to step up. Give me some insight into this.
I look at this and I look at the Biden maladministration violating the Constitution, violating our immigration law, I think intentionally intending to transform America from its current constitutional Republic to some kind of socialist Marxist globalist terrible entity.
That’s what their intention is it seems to me. And you see Republicans kind of complaining about it and criticizing them. But I don’t see any real leadership right now. And you said midterms in a year and a half or a little over a year, but we’re in trouble right now.
Morgan: We are. Where is the leadership coming from? Where is the action-based leadership coming from the pushback?
Morgan: Michael, again, I think that’s your spot on. And let’s put a little more context to it. Let’s not forget, during the Trump administration’s, first two years, he had the White House, the Senate, and the House.
And what happened? Nothing. Not a single piece of meaningful legislation was passed by Congress to secure our borders and to address illegal immigrants.
Leahy: Was the problem there is weak, Republican leadership in Congress?
Morgan: Absolutely. And that’s still part of the challenge now. You have very few Republicans out there. You have people like Senator Johnson and Cruz.
Leahy: Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin and Senator Ted Cruz from Texas.
Morgan: Yes. That’s right. Again, Wisconsin is not a border state, right. He’s out there. He understands it.
Leahy: Don’t they have a border with Canada?
Morgan: They do. They do. That’s a great point of a lot of our spin on the southwest border, but we have real threats in our Northern as well. There are real issues that never get talked about by our representatives.
But you don’t have really strong leadership right now on the Republican side that’s pushing that, I think to the extent that they should.
Leahy: Is Mitch McConnell part of the problem or part of the solution, which is it?
Morgan: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’d have to process that some more. What I would hope for is that we would see more from him. Let’s talk about reconciliation right now.
Leahy: This is the big bill up before the House and the Senate and the Senate particular. They trying to jam it through using this reconciliation process.
Morgan: Mass Amnesty.
Leahy: That’s included in it.
Morgan: It’s included. $8 million, and they had to wait for it to go. It’s a complicated process. They had to go to Senate parliamentary and they turned it down.
Leahy: They’re going to try it again.
Morgan: They’re gonna try again. That’s absolutely correct. And this is where I think the Republican leadership should say no, stop.
We’re not having any hearings on any confirmations that you want. We’re not working with you. Just stop. If that is in there, we’re done. That’s the kind of strength that we should see.
Leahy: Why do Democrats hate America? And why are Republicans weak in defending America?
Morgan: You know, that’s a good question. I think that that’s one reason why President Trump’s popularity was so strong because it was clear. It was clear with everything that he did and said it was generally about America first.
And if you look at what Biden’s doing, it’s America last. If we take the vaccination issue right now, the hypocrisy. If you’re working and you want to pay a mortgage and feed your family, you have to get vaccinated. But if you’re an illegal alien, you can walk into our country. And a lot of them do not get tested, but let alone…
Leahy: They have special privileges.
Morgan: Special privilege. It’s America last.
Leahy: It’s intentional. Now you have worked with you’ve been in meetings with President Trump.
Morgan: Yes.
Leahy:Â Have you been in meetings with President Biden at all?
Morgan: No, I have not.
Leahy: Okay. How would you contrast what it’s like working with President Trump versus what you hear it’s like working with President Biden?
Morgan: Night and day. This president, regardless of what the mainstream media would like you to believe. He was engaged. He was personable.
Leahy: Donald Trump is a very engaging guy.
Morgan: Very engaging guy.
Leahy: He comes from a sales background.
Morgan: He does.
Leahy: He knows how to read the room. You are smiling.
Morgan: He does. (Chuckles)
Leahy: He looks at you and he says, what is it that Mark Morgan wants? You can see his brain moving, right.
Morgan: And also, I think he likes people that are strong and are going to speak their mind. And here’s what’s going to shock some of the mainstream media, even if you disagree. I had personal conversations and the President let me speak my mind.
Now I’m not saying we agreed on everything. That’s not the point. He let me speak his mind. Then as president, the United States, he made the decision.
Leahy: And went with it. But he heard you out.
Morgan: Absolutely.
Leahy: I interviewed him a couple of times and I gave him a hard time about some eminent domain issues, and he listened to me, and he actually had a very good response to it.
I was impressed by that because he listened and he would hear me out. I don’t get the impression that Biden, a first, can comprehend a lot, but can listen to any alternate viewpoint. He’s very authoritarian it seems to me.
Morgan: Well, in addition to that, what I think, too, is you’ve got the political appointees actually running the majority of the administration. I think there’s a lot that’s not getting to that President.
I think there’s a lot being hidden from the president. I’ll give you an example of President Trump. If he wanted an answer, he would bypass what we typically know as a chain of command, and he would reach out to Tom Homan directly at ICE.
Or he would reach out to me as the Commissioner CBP directly and say, hey, Mark, I got a question. What do you think?
Leahy: Like a business guy.
Morgan: A business guy.
Leahy: A business guy trying to solve a problem.
Morgan: Exactly.
Leahy: We got a big problem here in the country today, Mark Morgan and we appreciate all of your efforts on it.
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 am to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.Â
