Border Patrol Union Leader Raises Alarm on Human Trafficking in US

A leader of the National Border Patrol Council raised an alarm on human trafficking in the U.S. amid ongoing criticism of the security of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Art Del Cueto, the vice president of the National Border Patrol Council union, appeared on Fox Business Network's Mornings with Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday and spoke about concerns of human trafficking and the distribution of fentanyl across the border.

Bartiromo told Del Cueto that she learned from a source that within the next two years, human trafficking could become as big as fentanyl in the U.S. prompting him to say "that's 100 percent correct."

"The drug cartels control everything that's coming across the border right now," Del Cueto said. "They're the ones that are in control...the cartels are the ones who are gonna dictate where people cross, how many people cross and they do it so they can distract law enforcement."

The Context

Many have continued to criticize U.S. President Joe Biden over the past several months over his control of the U.S.-Mexico border. Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has shown a rise in the number of illegal migrant encounters at the Southwest land borders over the past few months, when compared to years prior.

In January, the data shows that the number of illegal migrant encounters declined from December, but these numbers are still up from previous years, such as 2020.

What We Know

Biden previously called on Congress to pass a bipartisan border security bill but it was opposed by many House Republicans, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The president has also faced increased backlash this week following the death of 22-year-old University of Georgia student Laken Riley. Police arrested 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal migrant from Venezuela, in connection with her death.

Newsweek reached out to the National Border Patrol Council via email for comment.

Views

On Monday, 22 Republican attorney generals penned a letter to Biden "demanding that it locate the thousands of missing migrant children it lost and quit handing them to probable traffickers."

Iowa Attorney General Breanna Bird said, "The Biden Administration needs to quit handing kids to criminal traffickers...As a mom, it makes me sick to know that many of these missing kids have been trapped into forced labor and exploited by heinous sex traffickers. It's the federal government's job to keep these children safe. I've joined with 21 other attorneys general in demanding that the Biden Administration immediately locate and protect these children."

What's Next

Many Republicans have repeatedly called on Biden to take executive action to secure the border, including Johnson who recently asked the president why he wouldn't "use his existing executive authority" to respond to the border.

Last week, a Biden official told Newsweek that the president "has always evaluated what actions could be taken," but it is currently unknown if he will use this authority on the border in the coming weeks.

Update, 2/27/24, 10:12 a.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to the National Border Patrol Council for comment.

Update, 2/27/24, 10:50 a.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information.