Former Department of Homeland Security advisor Charles Marino said on Tuesday that Governor Katie Hobbs (D) should have done more to address the migrant crisis prior to the federal government’s closure of the Lukeville Point of Entry.
Marino, a security expert who advised the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from 2009 until 2011, made the remarks to John Fredericks on the “Outside the Beltway” program on Real America’s Voice. Fredericks, who is the publisher of The Virginia Star and The Georgia Star News, asked Marino about Arizona’s response to the 17,000 illegal immigrants officials apprehended in Tucson over just one week.
“These Democrat politicians around the country, governors, mayors, they don’t care about solving the problem,” said Marino, arguing that most local officials are only “asking for money” because they are “petrified to call out the administration.”
Marino told Fredericks that Hobbs “should be one of the first out there” when the immigration crisis began. He argued Hobbs should have joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) in identifying illegal immigration as “a threat to our community [and] a threat to the country.”
“So congratulations on the strongly worded letter, but where have you been for the past two and a half years would be my question,” Marino told Fredericks, referencing a letter sent by Hobbs which demanded more than $500 million from the federal government to compensate for the illegal immigration crisis.
He said, “And why are you not looking out for your constituency, or the rest of us in the United States, who are all being impacted by this?”
Democrat Leaders Aren’t Trying to Solve the Immigration Crisis—All They’re Looking for is More Money
Former DHS Advisor @Charles__Marino joins @jfradioshow to talk about the 17,000 immigrants apprehended in Tucson, Arizona and the Biden administration’s plan for the open… pic.twitter.com/tuYsjbMcXn
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) December 12, 2023
Marino’s remarks follow a letter from the entire Republican delegation to the Arizona House of Representatives that accused Biden of “complete inaction” and “neglect” at the southern border after the Lukeville access point was closed.
Calling it “the latest in a long stream of irresponsible policies” from the Biden administration, the Arizona House Republicans told the White House they intend to “continue to fight for the safety of our citizens and a human and orderly border” while pledging to hold Biden “accountable for [his] refusal to protect this nation and its people.”
While the border officials normally at the Lukeville Point of Entry have been reassigned, Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado told KGUN 9 he was concerned that American citizens who work, own property, or otherwise need to visit Mexico may be forced to take dangerous routes because of the Lukeville closure.
“There’s some stretches of highway from Rocky Point to Nogales that are kind of dangerous,” Maldonado told the outlet, referencing Rocky Point in Sonora, Mexico.
Rocky Point businessman Hector Vazquez similarly noted that more than 5,000 Americans own property in the Mexican border community during an interview with KJZZ, but while he stated that “immigration is a problem,” he insisted “right now it’s a federal problem on both sides of the border,” blaming both the Mexican government and Biden administration.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Illegal Immigrants” by John Modlin.Â
